Andre Yoskowitz
31 Mar 2008 16:10
Sony BMG, one of the Big 4 record labels, has had a lawsuit filed against them by PointDev, a French software company that claims the label is using pirated versions of its "Ideal Migration" software.
Making the situation even more embarrassing, it seems Sony BMG got themselves in trouble. A company employee called PointDev for help in using the software.
“When PointDev’s technicians addressed the support request they found that the software had been activated with a stolen authorisation key,” reads the original story.
“PointDev got a search warrant for court bailiffs to raid a Sony BMG office in January. The raid discovered four Sony BMG servers containing unlicenced copies of PointDev’s software, so the servers were seized as evidence.”
“We are not interested in an amicable settlement,” added Agustoni Paul-Henry, the CEO of PointDev (translated from French). “It is not just a question of money but more importantly in principle...the rate of software piracy in the company is very high. According to the Business Software Alliance, a association of the major publishers in the market, 47% of programs used in the company are unlawfully used in France...We are forced to watch every week if key software pirates are not on the Internet. We are a small company of six employees. Instead of trying to protect us, we could spend this time to develop ourselves,” finished Paul-Henry Agustoni.
When asked if he believed the pirated software could be just the act of that single employee, Agustoni responded bluntly, “I think piracy is linked to the policy of a company...if the employee has the necessary funding to buy the software they need, it will. If this is not the case, he will find alternative ways, as the work must be done in one way or another.”