James Delahunty
7 Sep 2011 1:47
BSA members reach settlement with organization using illegitimate licenses.
The settlement is to be paid out by a Japanese computer software planning and production company based in Kanto, Japan. The infringing licenses were for software products developed and sold by BSA members Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft.
The case originated with a report lodged with the BSA Japan software piracy hotline. A software audit was undertaken at the premises of the company, which found nearly 1,300 copies of unlicensed software, including Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk MAYA, and Microsoft Office.
A settlement of JPY437.34 million (approximately US$5.7 million) was reached between the three affected companies and the Japanese firm.
"The world's largest settlement originated from a report made to the BSA hotline. We continue to be surprised by the sheer number of reports being made of large organizations involved in software license infringements, despite a high level of awareness for copyright issues and intellectual property rights. We hope that this landmark case will serve as a timely reminder of the serious legal risks associated to the use of unlicensed software," said Chair of the BSA Japan committee, Sanae Matsuo.