Microsoft Sues Lithuanian BitTorrent Site for $43 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 7:44am.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against LinkoManija, reportedly the largest BitTorrent file-sharing tracker site in Lithuania, TorrentFreak reports.

With the aid of local anti-piracy agency LANVA, Microsoft has filed suit against LinkoManija and its alleged operator, Kestas Ermanas, seeking $43 million in damages.

Ermanas, whose assets and company have been seized as a result of the lawsuit, is alleged to have facilitated the sharing of unauthorized copies of Microsoft's Office 2003 and 2007 software suites.

In an interview with TorrentFreak, Ermanas maintains that he and his company have not operated the LinkoManija site since December 2009.

TorrentFreak also reported in November that LANVA reported the IP addresses of some 100 users of LinkoManija to authorities on allegations they were sharing copies of Windows 7.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u7sdm (TorrentFreak)

http://snipurl.com/u7sgp (TorrentFreak)

http://www.linkomanija.net