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First Police Action Taken Against AWP Software Piracy in Poland
Based on a lawsuit filed by JPM in co-operation with their Polish distributor Synot Polska, the first of a series of raids by Polish Police against illegal manufacturers of JPM machines on the territory of Poland took place on July 10.
The day became significant for the Polish market who can now develop in respect of strong laws and valid legislation in the area of copyrights. The majority of manufacturers from all over Europe had watched with valid concern the situation in Poland in regards to the misuse of copyrights by various local so called "manufacturers". It was an open "secret" that some of these local manufacturers were offering products illegally based on JPM and other leading European Manufacturers. This despite the fact that these products never saw a production line in the facilities of these manufacturers or their official representatives in Poland, or anywhere else.
The police raid was organised by the district headquarters of the police in the town of Nysa, along with an antiterrorist unit of the police that were responsible for the smooth running of the operation in the city of Korfantow. The premises in question were those of the Polish company Nowopol. During the 6-hour operation, 7 computers and notebooks were confiscated, containing electronic versions of programmes for AWPs. One notebook was also confiscated when the home of one of the owners of Nowopol was searched. A large number of programme and sound cards, GAL keys and eproms containing programmes produced by JPM were also confiscated. On these data carriers the logo of JPM and Synot W were used, along with the logo and mark of company NWP (which is a mark used by Nowopol). All of the confiscated material was then taken to the police headquarters in Nysa for further examination by an electronics expert, who will evaluate the conformity with the original products, and software submitted by JPM. Both JPM and their official Polish distributor Synot Polska, are of the opinion that the materials submitted when the lawsuit was filed, along with the hardware and software confiscated on the premises of Nowopol, will provide the police with enough evidence to sufficiently prove copyright infringement by Nowopol against JPM.
With the change in the Polish law that came into effect on June 15, 2003, 13 years of uncertainty for legitimate manufacturers has come to an end. Legal business activities in the area of the gaming industry can now be enforced with formal recognition of and the ability to enforce legitimate patents and copyrights over the illegal manufacturers.
JPM's International Sales Manager Mike Smith commented "We have pursued litigation against Nowopol for some time but due to the uncertainty of the legislation had made little progress. The new laws have allowed us to convince the authorities to take positive action that gives us great confidence in pursuing others who are infringing international patents and copyrights owned by JPM international. The Polish market is one of the largest in Europe and is finally somewhere that legitimate gaming and amusement businesses can operate without the fear of illegal and fraudulent copying of their product"
Both JPM and Synot Polska hope that this marks a significant milestone in the position of the police and the prosecutor who intend to act with urgency on any situation where the copyrights of the official producers are infringed upon so unashamedly. Based on the information that official manufacturers have (this is not an isolated incident) there are expected to be a whole series of lawsuits filed against illegal manufacturers in the near future. JPM are currently finalising the filing of further lawsuits against other so called "legitimate manufacturers" and "distributors" who are considered to be in infringement of JPM's rights and will pursue these actions with as much vigour as that against Nowopol. This is also a very important signal for all foreign investors that the Polish market is returning onto the map of well-legislated and policed legal markets in the areas of the gambling and entertainment industries.
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