The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a watchdog group representing the nation's leading software manufacturers, today announced that NovaLogic, Inc., developer and global publisher of games for personal computers, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, with offices in Calabasas, CA, paid BSA a total of $153,500 to settle claims that they had unlicensed copies of software programs installed on office computers.
In addition to making their payment, the company agreed to delete any unlicensed copies of software, purchase replacement software and strengthen their software management practices.
NovaLogic paid BSA the $153,500 fine after an audit revealed that it had unlicensed Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, FileMaker, Macromedia, Microsoft and Symantec software programs on its computers. Most investigations begin with a call to BSA's hotline, 1-888-NO PIRACY, or with a report to BSA's Online Reporting Form. BSA's attorneys contacted the organization, which cooperated and conducted audits.
Lee Milligan, president of NovaLogic commented,
"NovaLogic, Inc. is committed to full compliance with software licensing requirements. As a software developer, our organization depends on respect for our intellectual property rights. NovaLogic regrets the inadvertent violation of license agreements and is committed to rigorous respect for the intellectual property rights of others."
Jenny Blank, director of enforcement for BSA said,
"Since BSA's founding more than 17 years ago, there have been significant advances in combating unlicensed software use. However, software piracy in the workplace is still pervasive. It is BSA's hope that its rewards program will provide people with the encouragement they need to do the right thing and report software piracy in their current or former workplace confidentially."
An independent study shows that 21% of software in the United States is unlicensed. Last year, the U.S. lost $6.6 billion as a result of software piracy.
Businesses trying to determine whether their organization is using unlicensed software can download the free software audit tools at http://www.bsaaudit.com