Press release
Channel successfully defended as ITAC found liable for continued illegal software trading
24th September 2008, Reading UK: Today Microsoft announced a landmark victory for the channel against Manchester-based reseller ITAC.
Despite a settlement reached in February 2006 in respect of ITAC's original unlawful dealings, ITAC continued to trade unlawfully in Microsoft software. Following the settlement, ITAC continued to parallel import, and unlawfully deal in, Microsoft software.
Not only was this a flagrant breach of the settlement agreement, it also infringed Microsoft's Intellectual Property rights. As a result, Microsoft took further legal action against ITAC, which found ITAC liable for its continuing unlawful trade.
Original February 2006 settlement
Microsoft first took legal action against ITAC, and it's Managing Director Barry Omesuh, in January 2005. This action claimed substantial damages for the losses caused to Microsoft, and its lawful UK channel, by ITAC's parallel importing of Microsoft software. The case was settled out of court in February 2006, with ITAC, and Barry Omesuh, agreeing to pay Microsoft £1,000,000 in damages, and promising not to parallel import again. Microsoft has been unable to discuss the details of the case until now, as the settlement included non-disclosure provisions.
Despite this, ITAC continued to trade unlawfully. By doing so, the company breached the settlement, making the original non-disclosure clause invalid. ITAC has yet to pay in full the £1,000,000 sum it agreed to pay to Microsoft, and, as a result, Microsoft is forcing the sale of Barry Omesuh's assets to receive the damages owed in full.
Michala Wardell, Head of Anti Piracy at Microsoft UK, said: "Some people will probably be aware of the ITAC case, but won't know the real story behind it. Now that we are able to talk about it, it's great to see justice being done. As long as the likes of Omesuh and resellers such as ITAC remain in business, the profitability of honest resellers is under threat. This case against ITAC shows that Microsoft takes a zero tolerance approach to anyone who undermines the level playing field for our reseller community.
Wardell continued: "We're working hard, sometimes behind the scenes, to ensure the channel is a place where all partners can compete on an equal footing. We want to make sure resellers caught cheating the system are held to account for their damaging actions. We caught ITAC trading illegally more than once which shows how determined we are to protect genuine, honest businesses from being undercut by unscrupulous traders. In today's climate, we believe this is more important than ever, particularly when the culprits blatantly persist in their unlawful trading."
