Anti-piracy body reveals its latest scalps

The cost of unlicensed software use was highlighted again today

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today warned firms to get to grips with their software asset management after revealing the names of three London firms that have had to pay out more than £30,000 in fines and legal costs after breaching intellectual property laws.

The anti-piracy body said it reached a settlement of £15,000 with Network Disaster Recovery, which it accused of under-licensing Microsoft and Symantec software, and an £8,000 settlement with design company Osel Architecture, after finding it used unlicensed copies of Autodesk and Adobe software.

Training provider Home Inspector Training settled for just under £5,000 after it was found to have used unlicensed Microsoft software.

“It is critical, especially in tough economic conditions, that software is managed effectively. We will be looking closely at businesses in London ahead of the Christmas period and will be increasing our enforcement activity," said BSA spokesperson Alyna Cope.

"There are still too many businesses in the capital that are negligent when it comes to managing their software and we are calling on all software users to blow the whistle on illegal software use."