By Joey Gardiner, 18 April 2000 16:31
NEWS WHSmith Online has reached an out of court settlement with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) over the use of unlicensed software on its network. The BSA became aware of the use of illegal software at WHSmith's online subsidiary after following up an email from the company. The BSA confirmed that WHSmith Online illegally used software from Corel and Symantec over multiple PCs. It said that while serious, the abuse was not systematic, and WHSmith had been helpful in their enquiries. Mike Newton, Campaign Relations Manager for the BSA, said the case showed the dangers of not giving software licensing issues a high enough priority. He said: "This is particularly disappointing when the company in question works in the technology space and really should be aware of these issues." While the settlement will be embarrassing for WHSmith, it is not exceptional for the BSA to force a settlement for licensing breaches. George Gardiner, partner at law firm Tarlo Lyons, said: "A large organisation like WHSmith, by simple fact of its size, will make mistakes, but if this had been a flagrant breach the BSA would have taken them to court." The BSA is a global anti-theft organisation looking after the interests of software vendors. WHSmith Online is the ISP arm of the UK-based WHSmith retail chain. The BSA did not disclose the amount of the settlement, but it is thought to be less than £5,000.
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