NIZHNY NOVGOROD, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - A court has fined a school principal accused of copyright violation 5,000 rubles ($194), a judge involved in re-litigation said Monday.

Alexander Ponosov, a school principal in a small town in the Perm Region, was charged last year after he bought a set of computers for his school containing unlicensed Microsoft software. He has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, saying he was unaware that the Windows software on the PCs was counterfeit. Microsoft did not file any lawsuit against him.

"Ponosov was found guilty of copyright violation, including of 266,000 rubles ($10,322) in material damage to Microsoft Corporation, and is sentenced to a 5,000 ruble ($194) fine," Valentina Tiunova said.

The maximum possible penalty under relevant provision of the Russian Criminal Court is five years in prison.

Piracy had been a stumbling block in Russia's WTO accession talks with the United States until they reached an agreement in November, when Moscow promised a clampdown on intellectual property violations in the country, the second-largest market for pirated material after China.