March 26th, 2009 by Matt Fisher
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), a trade group for software and digital content companies, has announced a six-figure settlement with a US company accused of software piracy.
SIIA said Creative Edge of Iowa installed and used multiple copies of software from several companies, including Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Nero, and Symantec, without proper licenses. After SIIA leveled the accusations, the company audited itself, reported the results to SIIA, and agreed to the settlement.
In recent months, the Business Software Alliance has undertaken an increasing number of actions against companies falling foul of software licensing laws, but this news from the SIIA shows that firms have more than one licensing watchdog be beware of.
Posted in Licence Compliance, Software Audit, SIIA |
March 26th, 2009 by Matt Fisher
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced today four California-based companies paid BSA a total of $350,909 to settle claims of having unlicensed copies of software installed on their computers. As part of the individual settlements, the companies have agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software installed on their computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing stronger software license management practices.
Nuvelo, Inc. of San Carlos paid BSA $112,409 in damages for having unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft software. Styles for Less, Inc. of Santa Fe Springs paid $93,500 for unlicensed copies of Adobe, Microsoft, and Symantec software installed on its computers. Graham Downes Architecture, Inc. of San Diego BSA $75,000 for having unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft software installed on its network. Web U.S. Mail of Garden Grove paid BSA $70,000 in damages for having unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft software installed on its computers.
In addition to the monetary costs of damages, legal representation and the cost of purchasing new licenses, all four companies have now suffered the embarrassment (and potential loss of business) associated with the BSA publicly announcing their settlements across the internet and media. In contrast, research undertaken by a partner of FrontRange Solutions found that a proactive approach to software asset management could reduce overall software spend by as much as 20 percent - through aggressively targeting unnecessary software purchases, better negotiation of support contracts and re-use of existing assets.
Posted in Licence Compliance, Software Audit, BSA |
