Casey settles with Microsoft, changes company focus

Johannesburg, 04 Dec 2000

The anti-piracy case between Microsoft SA and black empowerment company Casey Investment Holdings has been settled out of court. Casey has agreed to pay Microsoft SA R75 000 as part of the settlement.

In terms of the agreement, the IT company has granted Microsoft software audit rights for three years, has committed to purchasing through legitimate channels, and has agreed to allow its sales and technical staff to undergo training on Microsoft licensing as well as the provision of training related to piracy issues.

Jeanette Bean, newly appointed sales and marketing director of Casey, and former director of Casey KwaZulu-Natal, says the terms of settlement were negotiated in conjunction with Microsoft SA and the company`s patent attorneys, which determined the settlement value relative to the retail value of the products and other mitigating circumstances.

The settlement follows protracted negotiations after a search of the company`s premises by the South African Police Service in June unearthed 38 alleged counterfeit Microsoft serial mice and a copy of Windows 98 OEM.

Mark Reynolds, head of Microsoft SA`s anti-piracy and legalisation drive, says negotiations leading up to the out of court settlement had been "amicable".

"The new management of Casey has been very co-operative. They are keen to get this behind them and to carry on conducting business. Both parties are also keen to wipe the slate clean and, if the various provisos are met, get down to building on a long-term relationship."

Mohamed Cassim, former CEO of Casey, resigned from the CIH board at the end of June. The company`s new management, appointed in August, has distanced itself from earlier press statements made by Cassim pertaining to Microsoft`s piracy allegations.

Bean says the company is committed to building a long-term relationship with Microsoft. "Our new focus will be on providing full solutions and services; we`ll be moving away from the distributor [side of the business]."

To this end, says Bean, Casey will re-engineer its business, and recruit personnel accordingly.

"We have the full backing of the new board in this resolve. We are happy that we were able to reach an out-of-court settlement with Microsoft - this will allow us to get down to conducting business again at full speed, without being distracted by piracy allegations.

"The new management is also committed to complete Casey`s transformation from a hardware distributor to a full IT solutions company. Under the new ownership of Blitec, this process will now be accelerated, with additional commitment, expertise and resources."

The Black IT Consortium (Blitec) acquired a 71.33% stake in Casey Investment Holdings in September.