Philips Collection Services nailed for illegal software

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Re: Philips Collection Services nailed for illegal software

Companies nailed for illegal software Technology Written by Roberta Murray Thursday, 02 October 2008 UK companies continue to ignore software licensing laws.
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Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announces its biggest settlement of the year to date. Despite BSA’s on-going awareness programme aimed at highlighting the risks of unlicensed software, businesses across the UK continue to ignore software licensing laws.

Following a string of cases throughout 2008, a six-figure settlement has been agreed with a northern-based travel company after it was found to be using unlicensed versions of Microsoft software, specifically SQL Server and the corresponding SQL CALs, Visio, Project, Office and Windows Server.

In addition to the settlement, the company has had to purchase legal versions of business critical software, which has resulted in a further cost of more than £100,000.

BSA today also reveals details of enforcement action against three other UK businesses for the alleged installation of unlicensed software on office computers. An application has been filed for a court order against Philips Collection Services, a debt recovery agency from Durham, and financial settlements have been agreed with Procurasell, a company developing recyclable packaging, and with online marketing group, Webevents Ltd.

Philips Collection Services is alleged to have been using unlicensed copies of Microsoft and Adobe software on approximately 100 PCs. The company failed to respond to a software audit request, initially sent by the BSA in June 2007, and this lack of co-operation forced BSA to pursue the case through the courts.

Philips Collection Services now faces a court hearing and, should BSA’s application be successful, will be ordered to hand over the information requested by BSA, as well as face settlement costs.


Procurasell was fined after it was found to be using unlicensed versions of Adobe and Microsoft software, while the Webevents settlement occurred after it acknowledge under-licensing of Adobe software on approximately one-third of its PCs. Although the individual sums cannot be disclosed, the combined settlement amounts to tens of thousands of pounds.

“All these cases, but in particular one, illustrates the high consequences of running unlicensed software to cut costs – clearly a false economy. Not only do the settlements take significant chunks out of the companies’ profit margins, they also send negative messages to staff and customers that these firms are willing to resort to unscrupulous measures to save money,” said Najeeb Khan, Vice Chair of the BSA’s UK Country Committee. “We hope these cases serve as an example to businesses that BSA will continue to reinforce the importance of managing their software. The IT industry takes the protection of intellectual property rights very seriously and companies that continue to neglect this area of their business need to be reminded that unlicensed software is not a viable option.”

Illegal software use, whether deliberate or accidental, is a major problem among businesses of all sizes in the UK. According to research house IDC, 26% of software in the UK is unlicensed and illegal. Once caught, the cost to businesses can be high. Beyond the financial penalties, unlicensed software can leave a business vulnerable to IT failures, viruses, data loss and the corruption of vital systems. Without the same support, services, performance patches and upgrades as legal versions, companies using illegal software are placing both themselves and their customers at risk.