intellectual property claims used for political repression

[David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Vadim Antonov <avg () kotovnik com>
Date: October 7, 2007 4:21:21 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: intellectual property claims used for political repression


David --

you may find this interesting (and probaly worthy of publishing in IP):

(the following is the translation of the blog entry by Marina  
Litvinovich,
an opposition politican and journalist in Russia,
http://abstract2001.livejournal.com/660606.html):

-------------
2007-10-06 21:13:00

News

At this moment there's a search going on in the appartment of the leader
of Rostov-on-Don branch of OGF (United Citizen Front[*]) Boris Batyi.
Boris is also a parlamentary candidate from "The Other Russia".

A few months ago his office was searched and he was charged with  
posession
of unlicensed software.

His telephone: 8-903-402-0059

Upd. on 23:12: The search is over. They have taken the computer's system
block, the documents of OGF, and a newspaper "The March of Disagreeing".
They promised to search the office of Batyi's wife.
--------------

[*] OGF - is an opposition political party supporting presidential
candidacy of Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion.

I'm wondering if Microsoft is aware of the fact that their intellectual
property claims are being used by the Russian police (or, more  
likely, by
FSB) as means of political repression.

--vadim



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