Metabolife International Inc., a creator of health and wellness products based in San Diego, CA, has been fined $100,000 dollars for using illegal software within their organisation.
The firm agreed to pay the Business Software Alliance (BSA) the money after a self-audit revealed that they were using unlicensed copies of software belonging to firms such as Symantec and Microsoft.
In addition to making their payment, Metabolife agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software and strengthen their software management practices.
The BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and they educate consumers on software management and copyright protection, cyber security, trade, e-commerce and other Internet-related issues.
Bob Kruger, Vice President of Enforcement for the BSA said,
"This settlement demonstrates that copying software costs more than purchasing it in the first place. Businesses will avoid paying penalties to BSA if they take a proactive approach to software asset management."
Firms concerned or in doubt about their own licensing are recommended to visit the BSA web site where they can download free software auditing tools.