Magazine publisher Next Media, publisher of youth and entertainment magazines including Rolling Stone, Soap World, PC Powerplay, Play Time, internet.au and The Australian Net Directory, has agreed to pay $50,000 in a settlement for unauthorised copying and use of computer software. The Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) which took action against Next Media claimed that at least 40 copies of each of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Office were illegally installed on a substantial number of PC and Macintosh computers at the Redfern offices of Next Media companies Next Publishing Pty Limited, Next Gaming Pty Limited, Tilmond Pty Limited, Next Online Pty Limited and Prospero Publishing Pty Limited. In announcing the substantial settlement, Chairman of the BSAA, Mr Jim Macnamara said that Next Media was established with the acquisition of the Australian licence of Rolling Stone. "No-one would expect to publish Rolling Stone without a licence and escape legal action. It begs the question of why a company would produce the magazine and others using unlicenced computer software," Mr Macnamara said. "Businesses need to get the message that they cannot use unauthorised copies of software from leading companies such as Adobe, Autodesk, Bentley, Microsoft, Macromedia and Symantec and get away with it," he said. The BSAA is strengthening its campaign against pirate software following research that shows Australia's rate of PC software piracy at 32 per cent - seven per cent higher than the US. In the past three months, the BSAA has settled legal proceedings with two multimedia businesses, Speedwell Media and Liquid Vision New Media Pty Limited, and filed a proof of debt claim against Catalyst Training Systems Pty Limited seeking more than $100,000 in damages. "There are many benefits to using original, licenced software such as freedom from viruses and access to upgrades and support. Another benefit is freedom from the risk of prosecution or civil legal action. From a risk management perspective alone, businesses and individuals should regularly audit their software to ensure they are not breaching licenses," he said. According to the most recent survey, software piracy in Australia costs manufacturers $264 million a year in lost sales. In addition, the BSAA points out that piracy costs local distributors and retailers another $280 million in lost sales revenue and makes the point that these are primarily Australian businesses employing Australians. A 1998 BSAA survey identified the graphics and publishing industries as among the most prolific users of unlicenced software, with 66 per cent of people surveyed saying that they either used illegal software or knew someone who did. As part of this new campaign, the BSAA is conducting a competition for the best anti-piracy advertisement in conjunction with Design Graphics, a leading industry publication. The competition closes on 14 August 2000 and offers a $5,000 prize for the best advertisement to encourage use of legal software and to alert computer users to the risks of unauthorised software. Source: Business Software Association of Australia (http://www.bsaa.com.au). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Structure your ColdFusion code with Fusebox. Get the official book at http://www.fusionauthority.com/bkinfo.cfm Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
