July 15, 2004

Microsoft wins $4 million spam verdict

Software giant hails the legal judgement as another victory in its anti-spam initiative

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday that it won an almost $4 million verdict against a California man for trademark infringement, false advertising and "cybersquatting" stemming from an unsolicited commercial  e-mail campaign to distribute a desktop toolbar program on recipients' Windows desktops.

Daniel Khoshnood of Canoga Park, California, was ordered to pay $3.95 million after the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found in favor of Microsoft in the civil case, which Microsoft filed in June 2003, after receiving a flood of spam on its MSN and MSN Hotmail e-mail services from Khoshnood. The e-mail messages claimed to offer a toolbar that, once installed, would automatically update recipients' Windows systems with security patches, Microsoft said in a statement.

Microsoft won a summary judgement against Khoshnood and his companies, Pointcom Inc. and Joshuathan Investments, in January. That judgement ordered Khoshnood to stop using Microsoft's trademarks and name, refrain from spamming, and pay damages to and legal fees for the Redmond, Washington software company, according to a court document.

In an e-mail statement, Microsoft hailed the judgement as another victory in its anti-spam initiative, begun in 2003. "Targeted enforcement activity is beginning to have a tangible, negative financial impact on spammers and is changing the economics of spam," the company said.

According to Microsoft, the company has filed 60 lawsuits in the U.S. against spammers in the U.S. and other countries. Of those cases, Microsoft so far has settled four, won six by default, had one summary judgement, and had one case dismissed.

The company has been awarded $54 million in judgements from spammers, five of whom were among the top 10 known spammers, Microsoft said.

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Mr. ONeal 10-Nov-09 10:55am
This article is outdated and is therefore inaccurate on many accounts. Microsoft was granted a summary judgment because Mr. Khoshnood could not afford to pay the outstanding legal fees that would have amounted from pursuing his defense in court. After the initial proceedings, Mr. Khoshnood contacted Microsoft in order to explain the misunderstanding. Microsoft dropped the summary judgment of $4 million and Daniel Khoshnood was only required to pay $150K in Microsoft legal fees, which is standard procedure. Daniel Khooshnood continues to provide outstanding services to his clients in an entirely legal manner.

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