The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, has settled a case with a West Australian metalwork company for the illegal use of software programs owned by BSA members Adobe, Autodesk, and Microsoft, in breach of copyright law.
As per the settlement terms, the company paid $100,000 in damages for the use of unlicensed software. The six-figure settlement in Western Australia follows a record number of settlements for the state in 2015.
In addition to paying damages, the West Australian metalwork business has agreed to purchase legitimate software licenses of Adobe, Autodesk, and Microsoft programs to legalise its ongoing software deployments.
The business has also agreed to undertake regular software audits and report to BSA to ensure ongoing software compliance.
BSA Asia-Pacific compliance programs senior director, Roland Chan, said some businesses think they can save money and fly under the radar by using unlicensed software. But the reality is, they fail to consider the larger financial and reputational risks.
“This case serves as a reminder to businesses everywhere of the importance of using properly licensed software. We urge all businesses, whether large or small, to conduct regular audits of software licenses and deployments, and implement an effective Software Asset Management (SAM) practice.
“A SAM program with regular IT audits will ensure that businesses can avoid the damaging consequences of using unlicensed software and get the best returns from their investments in IT,” he said.
“Furthermore we urge those who are aware of businesses using unlicensed software to report piracy.”
The informant who reported this matter is also the first to receive the maximum reward of $20,000 from BSA for disclosing accurate information regarding unlawful copying or use of BSA members’ software.
