Seven Germans sentenced for offering Firefox subscriptions

In Germany, seven people have been convicted of offering paid subscriptions to use software that is provided for free, including Firefox. They have been convicted of fraud and trademark infringement.

A Hamburg court recently convicted seven people for selling subscriptions to free software, including Firefox. “Mozilla often receives complaints about these types of websites, especially in Germany,” Mozilla said on its blog.

Part of the charge was based on trademark infringement of Adobe and Mozilla. The maker of Firefox has itself provided evidence to help the Public Prosecution Service. As a result, Mozilla hopes the Internet will become “a safer place for people to download Firefox and other free software.”

Adobe can look forward to compensation of half a million euros, while Mozilla can claim an amount of 100,000 euros. The 28-year-old main suspect has been sentenced to three years and 9 months in prison. The seven convicts managed to entice 65,000 users in two years for their subscription service, which cost 60 to 84 euros. The verdict appears to have been made in March.