BSA nabs unlicensed building firm

Anti-piracy body to receive £10,000 from Blackpool-based building firm

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has reached a £10,000 settlement with a building services company for allegedly using unlicensed software.

The anti-piracy body took action against Blackpool-based firm George Morrison, claiming it had been found using an unspecified number of unlicensed Microsoft and Autodesk products.

Philippe Brière, chairman of the BSA UK Committee, said: "Settlements such as this one can seriously damage a company's reputation and are evidently costly. What is more, the use of unlicensed software exposes businesses to significant security risks."

Julian Swan, director of compliance marketing for EMEA at the BSA, added that the use of unlicensed software is not always deliberate.

"Mistakes tend to happen when a company's management perceives software licensing solely as an IT problem, without recognising that failure to manage software properly could expose their company to legal redress, not to mention operational failure," he said.