System Labelling pays over £24,000 for unlicensed software

The Chester-based company, which manufactures labels, is to pay settlement fees and the cost of purchasing the software licenses it needed to be compliant. The case was first unearthed by a whistleblower who recommended the business for investigation by the BSA. The settlement was agreed in respect of several Microsoft products, including unlicensed use of Microsoft Office. "Using unlicensed software is a false economy and, as this case shows, can lead to more harm than good," comments BSA UK chair Michala Wardell. "Most businesses cannot afford unplanned financial costs like this, which often far exceed the initial outlay of licensed software. The financial penalties aside, using unlicensed software can also carry multiple business risks," she adds. Wardell cites the fact that, without licensing, companies may not have access to the support services and patches as legal versions, "which can lead to downtime and exposure to viruses". And Julian Swan, BSA's director of compliance marketing for EMEA, comments: "Unlicensed software use can occur when a company's management regards software as an IT problem, not recognising that failure to manage their software as a business asset could expose their company to legal redress and operational failure. "The BSA is urging companies to implement software asset management best practices and take advantage of the tools available from software vendors to ensure that their software licensing is in order." A 2010 study by IDC for the BSA found that by reducing the current 27% software piracy rate in the UK by 10% over four years, 13,011 high-tech jobs, £5.4bn in new economic activity and £1.5bn in taxes could be created by 2013, with 87% of those remaining in the local economy.