Microsoft Corporation v Mayhew

The Federal Magistrates Court has decided a computer software infringement dispute in favour of the software publisher, Microsoft Corporation.

Mr Rodney Mayhew, identifying himself as one of the “Official Microsoft Windows Vista Beta Testers”, offered and sold unauthorised copies of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office XP loaded onto a computer and supplied on CD-ROM.

The Court found that Mr Mayhew’s conduct contravened s 38(1) of the Copyright Act. Compensatory damages of $1,126.35 were awarded to Microsoft.

Neither Mr Mayhew nor his “claimed representative”, Mr Leonard Clampett, expressed a willingness to accept an open offer from Microsoft to settle the proceedings, nor did they file a defence with any detail.

The Court considered the copyright infringement to be deliberate and flagrant, that there was a need to deter future infringements and that both Mr Mayhew and Mr Clampett frustrated the Court system in the way they had dealt with the claim and the proceedings. Additional damages of $12,000 were consequently awarded.

Microsoft Corporation & Ors v Mayhew [2008] FMCA 121 (12 February 2008)