Wausau Steel pays $144,000 to settle claims of unlicensed software use

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world's commercial software industry, on March 24 announced a settlement with Wausau Steel Corporation of Wausau, Wis. Wausau Steel paid $144,000 to BSA to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft and Solidworks software installed on its computers. As part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software from its computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing stronger software asset management (SAM) practices. BSA was alerted to the unlicensed software use by a confidential report made on its web site www.nopiracy.com.

Wausau Steel is an independently owned full-line steel service center that started in Wausau and has grown over the last 10 years to add production facilities in Milwaukee and Big Lake, Minn.

"Wausau Steel worked fully with BSA in resolving any issues of unlicensed software use. It is important for all businesses to conduct software licensing reviews before finalizing any purchase of software assets," said Mike Keefe, officer and vice president of the company. "Performing the software audit allowed us to maximize our IT efficiency and helped us to protect our own software assets."

"All businesses need to be certain they have adequate licenses for all software installed on their computers," said Jenny Blank, BSA's senior director of legal affairs. "Proper software asset management helps to maximize a company's IT investment and ensure the highest level of software security. Unfortunately, the use of unlicensed software is a significant issue that impacts the technology industry and ultimately jeopardizes the spirit of innovation and creativity that is so critical to success."