Security software maker Symantec won a $3 million judgment against one of America's more famous spammers after a court ruled that Maryland Internet Marketing was selling counterfeit Symantec applications.

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, awarded Symantec the judgment against Baltimore-based company, which was, the court found, selling counterfeit copies of Norton AntiVirus, Norton SystemWorks and other applications through a spam campaign.

As part of the settlement of the case, Maryland Internet Marketing CEO George Moore is personally required to pay $300,000 in damages, according to Symantec. The court also barred Moore and his company from selling unauthorized Symantec products in the future.

"In our estimation, Maryland Internet Marketing was the largest source of spammed e-mails circulating throughout the Internet in the United States, selling counterfeit Symantec software," William Plante, director of Symantec's Worldwide Security and Brand Protection Task Force, said in a statement. "As a result of this case, the frequency of such e-mails has dropped dramatically, and a sizable amount of counterfeit product has been taken out of circulation. The fact that Mr. Moore was held personally accountable speaks volumes for how serious a crime it is to sell counterfeit software."

The professionals of Pretection could easily help locate the sales points of counterfeit software on the Internet. Through its continious worldwide monitoring service Pretection is able to locate the websites where the counterfeits are sold and provide the brand owner with accurate information about these sites and the owners. Specific case written cease and desist letters can be send by Pretection or more radical legal actions can be taken to stop these infringements.