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ARTICLE · 22 DECEMBER 2008

Unlicensed Software Is No Way To Beat The Credit Crunch

MacRoberts
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We have over recent years commented on the various initiatives undertaken by the Business Software Alliance (the BSA) to root out those businesses using unlicensed software.

United KingdomMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
David Flint
David Flint
Valerie Surgenor
Valerie Surgenor
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We have over recent years commented on the various initiatives undertaken by the Business Software Alliance (the BSA) to root out those businesses using unlicensed software. With software piracy studies estimating nearly $4 billion in global losses, it is easy to understand why members of the BSA, such as Apple, Microsoft and Adobe, mean business when they take unlicensed users to task.

2008 has not been a quiet year for the BSA, and the settlements reached are not for the faint hearted. Early in the year a US company settled with the BSA by agreeing to pay $92,500 for its use of unlicensed copies of Microsoft and Symantec software.

In the summer of this year, four UK companies settled with the BSA for their alleged use of illegal software, for what the BSA stated were "settlements running into tens of thousands of pounds".

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