Microsoft Corp. is suing a Malden business over allegations the local firm distributed computers with unauthorized copies of its Windows 7 operating system.
The lawsuit, filed by the Redmond, Washington-based company in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Friday, is seeking an unspecified amount of damages against Malden-based Integrated Communications & Technologies Inc., a company that installs and distributed software, including "purported Microsoft software," according to the court documents.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said in the filing that ICT "advertised, marketed, installed, offered and distributed unauthorized copies of Microsoft software after Microsoft warned it of the consequences of infringing Microsoft's copyrights."
Microsoft said that it warned ICT by email last April about the consequences of distributing unauthorized copies of its software on refurbished computers. But the next month, ICT allegedly distributed to a Microsoft investigator computer systems with "unauthorized and infringing copies of Windows 7 software installed," according to court documents.
Microsoft said in the lawsuit that this was not an isolated incident and ICT has been and continues to be involved in installing and offering counterfeit or infringed copies of Microsoft software to unidentified persons or entities.
ICT president Alex Styller said he was unaware of the lawsuit.