The Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA), watchdog groups representing the world’s leading software manufacturers, today announced that Career Campus, a career training institute located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, agreed to pay $62,490 after a self-audit revealed that it had unlicensed copies of Corel, Microsoft and Symantec software programs installed on its computers. In addition to the payment, Career Campus 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 Career Campus through its attorney and invited the college to work towards an informal resolution. In some cases a software raid is pursued.
“The settlement with Career Campus is important for several reasons. Career colleges, like all businesses, need to acquire sufficient licenses to support all of their software installations in order to avoid legal liability,” said Jacquie Famulak, president of CAAST. “But educational institutions have a higher interest in maintaining copyright compliance because they serve as an example to the students they teach. If students learn that it is okay to copy software, they carry away the wrong lesson. We compliment Career Campus in addressing this situation immediately and implementing a comprehensive software management program.”
“Our College is fully committed to compliance with all copyright laws,” said a spokesperson for the College. “Following the departure of our previous Systems Administrator we were surprised to learn that a number of unlicensed copies of software had been installed on our network. We have now rectified the situation and have established stronger internal controls to ensure ongoing compliance with software licensing requirements. Because of the unique nature of our business, we find that we are more vulnerable due to the constant rotation of students who have access to our network. We would encourage other educational institutions to monitor their systems closely.”
