Shareholder.com, an investment relations firm based in Maynard, Massachusetts, have been fined $110,000 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 Adobe, Macromedia, Microsoft and Symantec.
In addition to making their payment, Shareholder.com 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,
"Unfortunately, it is common even for well-managed, reputable companies to find themselves with more software programs installed on their computers than they have licenses to support. Companies should treat software just like any other asset. They should have strong software management policies in place that encourage compliance, guidelines for supervisors and clear procedures for employees."
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.