Five businesses agreed to pay a total of $250,300 to CAAST, a software piracy watchdog group, after self-audits revealed unlicensed programs on their systems.
TORONTO (djc) — Five Ontario-based companies have agreed to pay a combined total of $253,300 to the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST), settling claims that they had unlicensed copies of software on their systems.
CAAST, in cooperation with the Business Software Alliance (BSA), is a watchdog group representing software manufacturers. The group investigates businesses with potentially pirated software and encourages them to perform independent audits on their systems, through tools available on its website.
In each of the five cases announced this week, the companies found, through self-audits, that they had allowed their software to become under-licensed. This is a common oversight in small but rapidly expanding businesses. A program has a limit on how many computers it may be installed onto — something companies can forget in the heat of the moment.
“Companies should treat software just like any other asset and have an effective software management program in place to ensure compliance,” said Jacqueline Famulak, president of CAAST. “CAAST reminds businesses to conduct a software audit and acquire the necessary licenses to meet copyright requirements.”
It can be a costly mistake, as NAQ Inc., a provider of financial market data in London, Ontario found out. After a self-audit by new management revealed it had various unlicensed programs on its computers, the company agreed to pay CAAST $92,000. Other companies nabbed for piracy were Woodbridge’s Engineering.com, Mississauga’s MMI Group, Newmarket’s Palcam Technologies, and Robertson Inc. in Milton.
CAAST receives hundreds of piracy tips a year, which can come from employees (disgruntled or just very honest), consultants or the software providers themselves. Famulak points out that the settlements companies agree to pay can be a fraction of the potential cost for being caught with unlicensed software.
“If you were to go to court under the Copyright Act, you could be charged $20,000 per title,” she says. “And because they’re going through the public court system, the damage to their reputation is almost priceless.” Not to mention the lawyer fees.
The announcement comes on the heels of a November study released by the International Planning and Research Corporation for CAAST/BSA, showing that Ontario’s piracy rate of 35.5 per cent puts it nearly four points below the national average. This makes it the second-lowest rate of piracy in Canada after Alberta; in fact, Ontario’s piracy rate in 2003 is the lowest it has been in four years.
Nevertheless, the independent study also showed that software piracy cost Ontario’s economy $210 million in retail sales, as well as $1 billion in wage losses and 13,000 jobs.
Besides their paid settlements, the five companies agreed to delete any unlicensed copies and strengthen their software management practices.
Most of CAAST’s investigations begin with a call to its hotline, 1-800-263-9700, or with a report to the Online Reporting Form on its website.
