Washington, U.S.A. — A recent wave of high-value unlicensed software cases settled by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) underscores the persistent problem of software piracy in the United States. While U.S. piracy rates have dipped overall – as noted in the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study – the commercial value of software piracy in the U.S. still adds up to almost $10 billion, with 31 percent of computer users admitting to pirating software.

“Since January, BSA has settled a number of cases of unlicensed software – including eight cases representing a value of more than $2.5 million,” said Jodie Kelley, BSA’s Senior Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel. “Using pirated software – even if unknowingly – has the potential to expose a company to devastating legal, financial, and security risks. The companies involved in these cases are effectively denying copyright owners the rights to compensation for their hard work and intellectual property.”

These eight companies have agreed to pay settlements ranging from $120,000 to $625,000 to settle claims that they used unlicensed copies of software published by BSA members Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Quest, and Symantec.

A summary of the recent cases follows:

• Costumes Galore, Inc., an online retailer of Halloween costumes and accessories based inNorth Mankato, MN.
• ChannelAdvisor, a Delaware-based global e-commerce software provider.
• DEI Communities, based in Omaha, NE, which owns and operates apartment communities throughout the central United States.
• RQ Construction Inc., of Carlsbad, CA.
• Affordable Power, LP, an energy provider to residential and commercial sectors in Houston, TX.
• eLitigation Solutions, Inc., of Pleasanton, CA, a provider of eDiscovery and Hosted Review services.
• A major defense contractor in the Northeast.
• A network of automotive dealerships.

As part of the settlements, the involved companies have agreed to delete all unlicensed software from their computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become fully compliant, and take measures to ensure future compliance.

“The significant uptick in high-value cases of unlicensed software this year further confirms what BSA has been closely studying for more than 20 years – software piracy is a global problem, and one that will continue to evolve in form and size unless companies and governments alike reduce risks and increase their IT efficiencies,” Kelley said. “Software is a strategic asset for organizations of all sizes and must be managed properly. BSA is committed to educating businesses about proper software management – and we offer a number of resources at bsa.org.”

BSA also provides educational resources to help protect businesses of all sizes from the risks associated with pirated software. To educate IT managers and SAM practitioners, BSA offers SAM Advantage, an industry-aligned online training course and certification program that teaches businesses the skills needed to effectively manage their software. Additionally, BSA’s Certified in Standards-based SAM for Organizations is the first and only enterprise-level certification certification that affirms an organization is compliant with its software license agreements and its SAM processes are aligned to the International Organization for Standardization SAM standard.

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