Bridgewater Associates, Inc., an investment management firm based in Westport, CT, has been fined $275,000 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, Symantec and Microsoft.
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 BSA said,
"Companies should treat software just like any other asset and have a comprehensive software management program in place to ensure compliance. BSA encourages businesses to conduct a software audit and acquire the necessary licenses to meet copyright requirements."
A spokesperson for Bridgewater Associates said,
"Bridgewater Associates fully recognizes and respects the intellectual property rights of others. Appropriate measures to ensure that this situation will not recur have been implemented. We are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter expeditiously and amicably."
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.
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