The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, settled the largest software piracy case to date worldwide in Japan. The settlement amount comes to JPY437.34 million (approximately R45.6 million) and involved the rights infringement of various software products belonging to BSA members.
The case, which originated from a report, lodged with the BSA Japan software piracy hotline and a request for action made by the BSA member companies involved, resulted in a software audit being undertaken at the premises of the company.
Nearly 1,300 copies of unlicensed software, belonging to BSA members, were found. The representatives of three rights holders and the agent of the company went through a series of negotiations before a settlement agreement was made between the parties involved.
“This is the largest case of software license infringement that BSA members have ever settled. Disappointingly, despite recording the world’s lowest PC software piracy rate at 20%, organisational end-user piracy still exists in Japan. This landmark result confirms that even in a relatively low piracy rate economy, more needs to be done. Our efforts will continue regardless, as we work together with governments and our members in promoting better intellectual property rights protection the world over,” said Warren Weertman, BSA Legal Affairs manager.
Violation of software license agreements effectively means that the software copyright owner has been denied its rights to compensation for the efforts of its work. Besides assisting its members to exercise their rights, BSA also works towards promoting fair competition by ensuring that the rights of users of legal software are not compromised by unscrupulous competitors with a cost advantage through their use of unlicensed software.
Staff writer
