VietNamNet Bridge - The first time a foreign-invested enterprise in Vietnam was sued and had to pay the high compensation for using pirated computer software.

The Software Alliance (BSA) in Vietnam says that the International Gold Long John Dong Nai Vietnam Ltd. in the southern province of Dong Nai has reached an agreement of compensation with Microsoft and Lac Viet, after the two later sued this firm for using pirated software in late 2013.

Long John Dong Nai has committed to implement all requirements imposed by Microsoft and Lac Viet, including a public apology, compensation of 100% of the value of pirated software worth more than VND1 billion ($50,000).

After more than two months the Dong Nai Court official handling the case, both sides reached a mediation agreement. Long John Dong Nai Company also released a notice to publicly apologize to Microsoft and Lac Viet for the behavior of using unlicensed software in business operations.

This firm acknowledged that copyright infringement of Microsoft and Lac Viet software is a violation of the Intellectual Property Law of Vietnam.

Earlier, in an unscheduled inspection on June 17, 2013, management agencies found a large amount of pirated software of Lac Viet and Microsoft installed in 69 computers in use for business operations of Long John Dong Nai, estimated at VND1 billion.

Microsoft and Lac Viet brought the case to the Dong Nai Court.

Cong An Nhan Dan