In one of the stiffest sentences ever handed in the Chinese copyright infringement case - in which counterfeit Microsoft Corp. software worth $2 billion was sold worldwide - the alleged ringleaders have been sentenced to prison terms of up to six and a half years. Microsoft disclosed the punishment Wednesday to the eleven people convicted in the case.

The gang - which Microsoft has termed "the biggest software counterfeiting organization" operated from its headquarters in Guangdong, a southern Chinese province, and was busted by Chinese authorities in 2007, with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to Microsoft, the company's antipiracy team, consisting of 75 members, had been tracking the counterfeit gang since 2001, after the bogus software was detected by its Windows Genuine Advantage program. The FBI, which began its operation in the case in

2005 under the code name Summer Solstice, extended its cooperation to the Chinese authorities.

Commenting on the widespread operations of the group, Microsoft's associate general counsel for worldwide piracy and counterfeiting issues, David Finn, said "This is absolutely unprecedented. The size and scope of the operation is unlike anything we've seen before. We found their products in 36 countries."

Agreeing with the legal experts who consider the case to be a landmark one, Finn said: "There were a number of things that made this case unique and striking, and among them are the fact that customers provided information, the reach of the syndicate was so international, and that Chinese law enforcement partnered so well with American law enforcement."