Russian teacher's piracy case wings it's way back to court

THE RUSSIAN SCHOOLTEACHER whose prosecution for piracy was abandoned because of its apparent triviality may find himself back up before the beak.

A higher Russsian court ruled that Alexander Ponosov should face trial after all, charged with having used bent copies of Microsoft software.

Ponosov's case took on a higher profile after Iron Curtain-raiser Mikael Gorbachev appealed to rich bloke Bill Gates on the schoolteacher's behalf.

He initially faced Judge Elvira Mosheva in a court in Perm, around 600 miles east of Moscow, for using copies of Windows and Word he says were already installed on the computers delivered to the shool he teaches at.

The learned one chucked the case out suggesting Microsoft's financial damage was "too insignificant for a criminal investigation."

But Gorby's move in writing to Bill Gates suggesting he intervene may have back-fired. It now seems the case is high profile enough for the higher court to want to try it, apparently in an effort to prove Russia is serious about cracking down on copyright abuse.

Microsoft says the case has got nothing to do with it, since its up to Russian prosecutors wh they decide to prosecute. µ

See Also
Please Bill Gates, save this Russian pirate from the gulag
Microsoft snubs Gorbachev over piracy plea
Russian judge throws out piracy case
Russian schools abandon Windows after piracy scare