An engineering company director has been jailed for a year by a Nairobi court for copyright infringement of a software.
Senior Resident Magistrate TN Sinkiyian ordered Kariuki Muchemi, the director of Interconsult Engineers Ltd to pay a fine of Sh120,000 if he is to escape jail.
The magistrate further ordered him to pay Ideate technologies, the authorized dealers of the software in Kenya, Sh240,000 as compensation or serve an additional 10 months in prison.
Muchemi was convicted of two counts of copyright infringement. He was found guilty of being in possession of computers containing infringing Auto Card 2009 and 2013 software whose copyright is owned by Autodesk Inc.
Intellectual Property: Registration, Non-Disclosure Agreement not enough where Safaricom greed is involved
On 10th June 2014, following a complaint made by Ideate technologies limited, KECOBO inspectors accompanied by the complainant conducted a raid at Interconsult Engineers Ltd. Located at Jadala place along Ngong lane within Nairobi County.
It is during the inspection that Muchemi was found with the infringing software.
The matter was prosecuted by KECOBO’s Senior Legal Counsel Mr. Paul Kaindo.
The magistrate further directed that the software be expunged from Muchemi’s computers in the presence of KECOBO officers while contrivances contained in compact discs be delivered to KECOBO for destruction.
