BSA hands down largest-ever fine
An unnamed media firm has agreed to pay the Business Software Alliance (BSA) a record £1.7 million ($3.5m / €2.5m) for significant shortfalls in its software licensing. The firm was reportedly investigated by the BSA at the request of software vendors including Adobe, Autodesk, Avid and Microsoft.
The BSA then worked with police to raid the company and seize assets.
Together with the £250,000 fine levied against a UK organization earlier in the year, it appears that vendors and the BSA are becoming more aggressive in their compliance activities - although it is important to acknowledge the efforts made by firms like Microsoft, which aim to educate their customers not only to the need to be fully compliant but also the business benefits of adopting software management best practices.
