The Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA), watchdog groups representing software manufacturers, today announced that Braintech, a public company located in North Vancouver, BC, that develops and supports commercial grade Vision Guided Robotic (VGR) automation solutions for the manufacturing industry, agreed to pay CDN $141,186.98 after a self-audit revealed that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, Microsoft and Symantec software programs installed on its computers. In addition to the payment, Braintech agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase any needed replacement software and strengthen its software management practices.
Most of CAAST’s investigations begin with a call to its hotline, 1-800-263-9700, or with a report to the Online Reporting Form on CAAST’s Web site, www.caast.org. In this case, CAAST and BSA contacted Braintech through its attorney and invited Braintech to work towards an informal resolution. In some cases a software raid is pursued.
“The settlement with Braintech demonstrates that even well-managed, reputable companies need to be fully attentive to software licensing requirements,” said Jacquie Famulak, President, CAAST. “Companies should implement policies and procedures in order to maintain compliance and demonstrate to their employees the importance of using licensed software. The cost of doing otherwise can be very high.”
“Braintech, itself being a software vendor, is aligned with CAAST’s mandate and is fully committed to compliance with all copyright laws,” said Owen Jones, CEO, Braintech. “We were unaware of the lack of sufficient software licenses and, as a part of our governance processes, we have since developed and instituted new processes that improve Braintech’s ability to monitor and control the installation and usage of software programs on our computer networks.”
