A Westport firm that manages billions of dollars for clients around the world has paid a software manufacturers’ watchdog group $275,000 to settle a claim that it had unlicensed copies of software programs installed on office computers, the group said today.
The Washington, D.C.-based Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Westport’s Bridgewater Associates, Inc., an investment management firm at 1 Glendenning Place, was one of two Connecticut firms making settlements.
The other was A.W. Hastings, a supplier for the building material industry, headquartered in Enfield. It paid $80,022.
In addition to making their payments, the companies agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software and strengthen their software management practices, the BSA said in a news release.
Bridgewater Associates, Inc., which says on its Web site that it has more than $92 billion under management from clients around the world, paid BSA $275,000 after a self-audit revealed that it had unlicensed Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software on its computers, the group said.
A self-audit at A.W. Hastings revealed that it had unlicensed Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft software programs on its computers, the BSA said.
Most investigations begin with a call to BSAs hotline, 1-888-NO PIRACY, or with a report to BSAҒs Online Reporting Form, at www.bsa.org., the group said.
It said this was the case with the Connecticut settlements announced today. BSAs attorneys contacted the companies and they cooperated with BSA and voluntarily conducted self-audits, the group said.
ғCompanies should treat software just like any other asset and have a comprehensive software management program in place to ensure compliance, said Bob Kruger, vice president of enforcement for BSA.
ԓBSA encourages businesses to conduct a software audit and acquire the necessary licenses to meet copyright requirements.
BSA quoted a spokesperson for Bridgewater Associates as saying, ԓBridgewater 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.
Jonathan D. Hoyt, treasurer of A. W. Hastings, said, according to the BSA, ԓA.W. Hastings has implemented a new management program, allowing us to monitor our software installations. We have emphasized to our employees the importance of making sure all programs installed have a license.
Businesses trying to determine whether their organizations are using unlicensed software can download the free software audit tools at www.bsaaudit.com, the BSA said.
It said a recent independent study showed that 22 percent of software in the United States is unlicensed. Last year, the United States lost nearly $6.5 billion as a result of software piracy, according to the group.
BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC Software/Mastercam, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, Microsoft, Network Associates, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, UGS and VERITAS Software.
