The Vereshagino district court decided to stop the criminal case against school Principal Alexander Ponosov. However, the court didn’t find him guilty. The case was closed due to the insignificant degree of the damage Mr. Ponosov inflicted on Microsoft. But the accused himself intends to appeal the decision. The court said there is evidence of legal violation in Alexander Ponosov’s activity. Yet, Microsoft’s financial damage is too insignificant for a criminal investigation, Judge Elvira Mosheva told CNews. The significance of the damage in such cases does not depend on the sum itself, but on how significant it is for the plaintiff. I.e. in this case the court decided that the financial damage was insignificant for the Microsoft corporation, she said.

The court case is on since January 9th, 2007. It was initiated after check-ups conducted in Sepych school computer rooms. The illegal use of Microsoft products at the Sepich school resulted in a 260 thousand rubles damage for the company. The Article 146 of the Russian Criminal Code provides five years’ imprisonment for piracy.

The court case against a rural school principal Alexander Ponosov gave rise to huge public interest in Russia and abroad. The Russian Federal Agency for Press said it would cover Microsoft’s financial damage if the latter claims it from the principal of Sepych secondary school Alexander Ponosov. Mr. Ponosov saw support from Perm region’s Education Ministry, which provided a lawyer for him, and from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Besides, former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev stood up for the principal in his open letter to Bill Gates.