BSA levies largest UK fine of 2008
The Business Software Alliance has announced a six-figure settlement with a ‘northern-based travel company’ that was allegedly using unlicensed copies of Microsoft SQL, Visio, Project, Office and Windows Server.
In addition to the settlement, the company has had to purchase legal versions of business critical software, which has resulted in a further cost of more than £100,000.
The BSA also released details of three other smaller cases in the UK, plus a host of fines raised against firms in North America. One of the UK firms being pursued by the BSA refused to undertake a software audit and is now facing a court hearing, which could see them forced to hand over information and pay legal costs.
The latest news from the BSA follows a string of recent cases, showing that 2008 really is the year of the software audit. Our advice - put yourself in the driving seat and reconcile your own licensing position before a vendor or watchdog does it for you!
