Twelve Canadian Companies To Pay More Than $431,000 In Damages For Unlicensed
Software Use

    
    Business Software Alliance Leads National Enforcement Effort Across
    Canada to Stamp Out Illegal Software Use
    

TORONTO , Sept. 14 /CNW/ - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announced it has settled with 12 Canadian companies for a combined total of $431,336 in damages for using unlicensed copies of software on their computers. The settlements are the result of a national BSA enforcement effort that spans British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec .

Enforcement actions like these are a result of BSA investigations of under-licensing, a form of copyright infringement that occurs when software is intentionally or unintentionally installed on multiple computers without proper authorization. Under the Canadian Copyright Act, under-licensing can result in fines of up to $20,000 for each software title illegally copied. In addition to the damages paid, the 12 companies that settled with BSA agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software, purchase any licenses necessary to become compliant, and strengthen their software asset management practices.

"These settlements demonstrate that even well-managed organizations need to pay careful attention to software licensing requirements, especially during challenging economic times," said Michael Murphy , Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee. "With so many cost-cutting measures taking place these days, it's critical for companies to manage their software assets properly. Cutting corners in the short term can ultimately prove costly in the long run."

The companies that have settled with BSA are as follows:

    
    British Columbia
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Company                  Description          Location  Settlement
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Cantrav Destination      Destination services       Vancouver   $62,500
    Services, Ltd.           management
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    TDS Technologies         Lumber, plastics, and      Delta       $11,900
                             food industry equipment
                             provider
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Alberta
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Company                  Description          Location  Settlement
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Medical Scope            Corporate imaging          Edmonton    $35,000
    Publishing Corp.         consultants
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Ontario
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Company                  Description          Location  Settlement
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A.V. Gauge & Fixture,    Builder of checking        Windsor     $128,800
    Inc.                     fixtures for the stamping
                             and building industries
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Net Present Services     Online business planning   Toronto     $28,697
                             consultancy
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Freight Logix, Inc./     Provider of transportation Oakville    $21,770
    Accellos Canada          management solutions
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    PCCU Financial           Financial institution      Toronto     $20,000
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DMCT, LLP                Financial accounting firm  Toronto     $14,489
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    VerticalScope, Inc.      Internet media company     Toronto     $13,386
                             for various markets
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Quebec
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Company                  Description          Location  Settlement
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    OmegaChem, Inc           Developer of compounds      Levis       $50,486
                             for the chemical and
                             pharmaceutical industries
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Ventilabec, Inc.         Systems specialists in     Laval       $15,558
                             climatization, ventilation,
                             and refrigeration.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Ventilation G. R. Inc.   Ventilation services       Laval       $28,750
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

A representative from OmegaChem said "OmegaChem supports BSA's initiatives and appreciates the collaboration received in resolving the licensing issues. The audit carried out has permitted us to discover flaws and to implement processes that will not only assure that software licensing issues will not resurface but will also contribute to the protection of our own intellectual property."

"Unfortunately during our growth transition from a small to a medium-sized company, we did not have the resources for proper software control and fell victim to mismanagement of licenses on older computers. We have since created an IT Department and implemented policies and procedures to control and manage all aspects of our technology department and are fully compliant with all software," said Antosh Pieniazek of A.V. Gauge.

A representative from Net Present Services said "Our Company is committed to maintaining appropriate licensing. Self-audits should be an ongoing procedure within all companies along with employee awareness of copyright laws."

Michael Cornell , CEO of Accellos said "As a software company, we fully support the goals and mission of the BSA. We are a company that grows through acquisition and we were unaware of the inadvertent use of unlicensed software in one of our acquired offices. Once we learned of the issue, we were happy to work closely with BSA to ensure our software is fully licensed."

Most of BSA's software investigations begin with a call to its anti-piracy hotline, 1-888-NO-PIRACY, or with a report to an online reporting form at www.nopiracy.ca. The majority of leads come from current or former employees. Upon receiving a lead of software piracy, BSA contacts the company to explore the matter further by asking them to perform an audit of its software assets. If a settlement cannot be reached, both parties have the option of turning the matter over to the courts. In the cases announced today, BSA's attorneys contacted the companies after receiving tips and invited them to work towards an informal resolution.

Software piracy continues to be a serious problem in Canada . According to a recent BSA-IDC Study, 32 per cent of PC software installed on computers in Canada in 2008 was pirated, with a retail value of approximately US$1.2 billion.* A 2008 study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit(xx) found that despite high scores in the areas of IT infrastructure and development of human capital, Canada falls behind other countries, including the United States , Australia , Germany and the United Kingdom , when it comes to fostering a legal environment for intellectual property.

In an effort to help prevent software piracy, BSA offers businesses free tools and educational materials designed to protect users from the dangers of illegal software and ensure software compliance. Businesses with questions or concerns about whether they are using unlicensed software can download free software audit tools from the BSA website, www.bsaaudit.com.

About BSA

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Embarcadero, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone , Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.

    
    *Global Software Piracy Study, conducted by IDC for the Business
    Software Alliance, released May 2009.

    (xx)Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness 2008, conducted by the
    Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance,
    released Sept. 2008.
    

For further information: Hill & Knowlton Toronto, Megan Ramsay, [phone], [email protected]; Hill & Knowlton Toronto, Melita Vega, [phone], [email protected]