For using the pirated software and competed with the advantages over American businesses, an Indian textile company, had to pay the penalty of USD 100000 (Rs. 66 lakhs) to settle the concerned charges.
Pratibha Syntex Ltd, a textile firm, headquartered in Indore, MP, exports cloths to top American companies, including Walmart.
After the suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and has been approved by a judge, Prathibha company has agreed to pay USD 100000 in restitution, within 30 days.
Speaking on the issue, California Attorney General Kamala Harris said, “Pratibha Syntex engaged in illegal business practices that placed California garment companies at a disadvantage, while hurting American software companies’ ability to develop new and innovative products.”
“Businesses around the globe should be on notice that the state of California will hold them accountable for stealing intellectual property to unfairly undercut their competition,” she added.
The case assumes significance as this is the first time that a state government has secured a legally enforceable judgement against an international company for such violations.
Earlier in 2013, Harris sued Pratibha Syntex for not paying the licensing fees for software it relied on for its business, including products manufactured by Adobe, Microsoft, and others, giving the company a significant cost advantage in the low-margin business of apparel manufacturing, shipment and sales.
Harris alleged that Pratibha Syntex gained an unfair competitive advantage over American-based companies by using pirated software in the production of clothing imported and sold in California.
The media release on the same stated, “Other terms of the landmark settlement prohibit Pratibha Syntex from using unlicensed software or reproducing any part of a copyrighted software program without the permission of the legitimate copyright holder, and further require the company to perform four complete audits of the software on their computers and fix any violations within 45 days.”
By Phani Ch
