Liberty Times, October 17, 2024
Infringing Navigation King for 1.5 Billion: Selling Chinese-made Car Navigation Devices with Pirated Software, Opening 4 Stores to Earn Millions
[Reporter Zhang Ruizhen / Taichung] A man surnamed Li, along with shareholder Huang and three others, opened four navigation device installation stores in Taiwan five years ago and expanded to Shenzhen, China. They heavily advertised on the Internet, but the police found they used Chinese-made Android devices with pirated Taiwanese navigation software “Leke Navigation King.” Over five years, they earned more than 11 million NT dollars. Four individuals were apprehended, with the software developer claiming that the piracy of “Leke Navigation King” caused 1.5 billion NT dollars in damages (including development costs). The case has been transferred to the Changhua District Prosecutors Office for investigation under the Copyright Act.
Four Apprehended and Sent for Legal Processing under Copyright Act
The Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Intellectual Property Rights Investigation Unit reported that 48-year-old He, 52-year-old shareholder Huang, and two technicians opened a car navigation device installation store in Shenzhen, China, from August 2019. In Taiwan, they opened stores in Wuri and Beitun Districts in Taichung, as well as in Changhua City and Yongkang District in Tainan. After receiving a tip, the police searched the four stores and the residences of He and others, seizing pirated software stored on USB drives, over 80 Chinese-made Android car navigation devices, and other evidence.
According to Gu Sanmin, leader of the Second Squad of the Intellectual Property Rights Investigation Unit, He purchased Android devices for about 4,000 NT dollars each and installed six cracked versions of “Leke Navigation King” software obtained from China. The Android navigation devices were then installed in customers’ cars, with prices ranging from 5,999 to 18,999 NT dollars depending on memory size and CPU level.
Pirated Versions Bypass License Code Verification, Unable to Update Map Data
As for the difference between the genuine and pirated versions, Gu said that the pirated version bypasses the license code verification process, meaning it can be used without entering a license code but cannot update map data.
Police investigation revealed that He and his accomplices sold over 1,000 devices in more than five years, with an average price of 10,000 NT dollars per unit, resulting in illegal profits exceeding 11 million NT dollars. The case, under investigation by the Changhua Prosecutors Office for “unauthorized reproduction with the intent to sell or rent, infringing on copyright property rights,” carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to 2 million NT dollars.
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