Microsoft catches up with ITAC owner

Software giant Microsoft has claimed a "major victory" in its long-running piracy battle with now defunct Manchester based sub-distributor ITAC.

ITAC managing director Barry Omesuh was given a total of seven custodial sentences at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ranging between one and nine months and to be served concurrently, and also ordered to pay £2.5m in damages.

Included in the court order was a grant to Microsoft enabling it to sell Omesuh's properties in order to pay his debts.

Despite ITAC having to pay Microsoft £1m in damages in February 2006 for parallel importing and unlawful dealing of Microsoft software, the firm continued to trade with an unauthorised distributor in the Middle East.

Omesuh was found in contempt of court for breaching court orders issued in March 2008.

Graham Arthur, anti-piracy attorney at Microsoft UK said: “This case against ITAC and Mr Omesuh shows that Microsoft takes a zero tolerance approach to anyone who undermines the level playing field for our retailer community.

“We are working hard, sometimes behind the scenes, to ensure the software reseller market is a place where all retailers can compete on an equal footing. We want to make sure that retailers caught cheating the system are held accountable for their damaging actions.”

In her judgment on the contempt issue, Mrs Justice Proudman said: “The defendant was a wholly unreliable witness who on his own admission told a number of bare-faced lies about relevant matters over a period of time.”

In March of this year of ITAC Omesuh filed for administration.

Arthur added: “We caught ITAC trading illegally more than once which shows how determined we are to protect genuine, honest businesses from being undercut by unscrupulous traders.

“In today’s climate, we believe this is more important than ever, particularly when the culprits blatantly persist in their unlawful trading.”