Symantec wins piracy judgment

Security specialist Symantec said Wednesday that it has been granted a $3.1 million default judgment in its California lawsuit against an accused software pirate. Under the terms of the ruling, handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the individual charged with running the piracy ring, identified by the court as Sam Jain, was found guilty of violating Symantec's intellectual-property rights by selling counterfeit versions of the company's products. Jain could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the security company, Jain and several co-defendants created fake pop-up ads telling consumers that their Symantec software was preparing to expire and needed to be renewed. People who fell for the trick were sent to a Web site selling fraudulent versions of the company's Norton SystemWorks, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Ghost and PC Anywhere products. The group also sent out e-mails that encouraged consumers to visit its sites.