In the leading case of Microsoft vs SABRO, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set aside the fallacious judgment contrived by the magistrate section 30 (West) Islamabad.
Microsoft had filed an appeal with the high court through advocate Majid Bashir against the judgment passed in the case of Microsoft Corporation vs SABRO Corporation where three accused (directors of the company) were acquitted of the charges due to mistake made in the investigation and production of the witnesses by the prosecution.
The suspects were accused of running their businesses without a legitimate licence from Microsoft and distributing illegal and pirated software of Microsoft. They were charged under section 66, 66D of the Copyright Ordinance, 1962.
However, the accused denied the allegations levelled against them and contended that they were booked in a false case and that the magistrate, without paying any heed to the facts and evidence available against the accused, acquitted them of the charge by giving them benefit of doubt.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC called upon both the parties to know the actual situation and ordered that the said case be tried again and the trial court should accord it as fresh on factual grounds.
This case accurately depicts the dire need to promote laws pertaining to intellectual property rights in Pakistan. Pakistan is a signatory to International conventions like Bern Convention, Universal Copyright Union and WTO.
