Amaze Ltd paid £28,000 to the BSA, after an investigation found unlicensed copies of software on the company's corporate network. In addition to the fine, Amaze spent £24,000 on the purchase of software licences in order to operate legally.
Comojo Holdings paid an undisclosed sum to the BSA for the use of unlicensed software in the Metropolitan Hotel and the BSA says that the company is "currently undergoing a software legalisation process."
According to the BSA, an industry group whose members include Microsoft, Adobe, Apple Computer and Network Associates, 25% of business software in the UK is illegal. It also claims that British industry loses more than £9 billion in counterfeiting and piracy costs each year.
The BSA offers a reward of up to £10,000 for information about companies suspected of using illegal software, if the information leads to a prosecution or settlement. The group said that the highest reward received by an individual this year is £6,500. According to BSA statistics, 40% of UK tip-offs come from London and the South East, whilst Scotland provides only 6% of tip-offs.
