New Delhi, July 21 (Inditop.com) Counterfeiting licensed software products of global giants Microsoft Corp and Adobe Systems proved costly for a businessman here as the Delhi High Court Tuesday asked him to pay Rs.1 million in compensation to the two firms.

Justice Manmohan Singh held Mahindra Saxena guilty of counterfeiting the products of the two global software giants that fought a seven-year legal battle to nail him.

“It (counterfeiting) causes financial damages not only to the plaintiffs (Microsoft and Adobe) but also amounts to deception to the public at large. At the same time, the government is losing high revenue because of such illegal activities … (as) the counterfeiters do not maintain any account books nor pay any taxes,” the court said.

On a request from the two companies, the court had ordered investigation and 16 CDs containing counterfeit and unlicensed software were found from Saxena.