Microsoft Wins $250,000 Judgment Against Spokane Businessman

In the first case of its kind in Spokane, a federal judge Friday imposed a $250,000 judgment against a businessman for selling counterfeit copies of Microsoft software.

T. James Le, owner of Alpine Computers of Spokane, was ordered to pay that sum for illegal sales of Windows and Office software occurring after December 1998.

U.S. District Court Judge Alan A. McDonald entered the judgment after a one-day civil trial in Spokane last week.

Microsoft contended that Le had sold about 500 bogus copies of its software.

Le admitted selling counterfeit software, but insisted it was fewer than 500 copies. The trial only determined the amount of his liability.

The key issue was what happened after December 1998, when undercover buyers bought counterfeit copies of Office 97 and Windows 95 software from an Alpine store. Microsoft quickly sent Le a letter warning him to stop the sales.

The sales didn’t end, however, as Le continued buying software from a supplier in Florida, according to John Nelson, the Spokane attorney representing Microsoft.

Under federal law, McDonald could have awarded damages amounting to several million dollars against Le.

McDonald instead ruled that a $250,000 award compensated Microsoft and effectively punished Le, who is 28. McDonald also awarded $69,021 in lawyers’ fees for Microsoft.

Le has the option of appealing the judgment.

“We think this sends a message that distribution of counterfeit software won’t be treated lightly in this district,” said Nelson, a member of the Preston, Gates and Ellis firm, which deals with piracy cases across the country for Microsoft.

This is the piracy case in Eastern Washington in which Microsoft targeted a flagrant violator, Nelson said.

The case came to Microsoft’s attention when other area software sellers noticed Alpine’s low product prices. For instance, Alpine sold Office 97 for $99, rather than the $200 most vendors charged.

Le said during the trial he stopped selling the Office 97 software after receiving a warning from Microsoft. But he continued selling copies of Windows 95 purchased from the same provider, a Florida company called The Yes Man.

Before the trial, Le signed an order acknowledging he had wrongly sold counterfeit software. But he insisted on going to trial to challenge Microsoft’s claim that his actions were “willful disregard” for the law.

Le argued in the trial he stopped selling Office 97, but kept selling Windows 95 since the warning letter didn’t mention that product by name.

McDonald didn’t agree and declared that “Le’s decision to continue buying Windows 95 from The Yes Man is consistent with what can only be characterized as an attitude of reckless, if not deliberate, disregard for the intellectual property rights of the plaintiff.”

Le could not be reached for comment.