BSA takes UK PC suppliers to court

RedPC Services and Overclockers fingered for not cooperating with anti-piracy body

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has continued its crackdown on channel firms by issuing court orders against PC suppliers RedPC Services and Overclockers.

The anti-piracy body suspects both firms of using illegal software and claims they have failed to cooperate with its enquiries. The announcement comes just two weeks after the BSA revealed it had reached an out-of-court settlement with security distributor e92plus (CRN, 9 June).

The BSA claims it contacted London-based RedPC Services and Staffordshire-based Overclockers to complete a software audit, but did not receive satisfactory responses.

The claims - which relate to the use of unlicensed Microsoft and/or Adobe software - are expected to amount to tens of thousands of pounds and are set to be heard in court in early August.

“The BSA and its members are happy to advise and support businesses that need guidance through the licensing process,” said Sarah Coombes, senior director legal affairs EMEA at BSA.

“These cases, however, called for an alternative approach. We tried to work with these businesses, but a lack of co-operation left us with no alternative but to pursue this through the courts. Companies need to understand that failure to adequately account for the software they use cannot be tolerated.”

Martin Prescott, managing director at RedPC Services, called the announcement “a storm in a teacup”.

“The BSA is trying to grab a headline. I’ve repeatedly told them we are a very small organisation and if they think they are going to find banks and banks of computers here, forget it,” he told CRN.

Prescott said that all the software RedPC Services uses was bought from the liquidator. “We have the documentation that shows it is all above board,” he added.
Rupert Lowery, managing director of Overclockers, told CRN: “We are the UK’s leading provider of high-performance computer hardware and software and take the BSA’s request for information very seriously and are currently looking into its claims.”