The publisher was the subject of a BSA enquiry after an
ex-employee tip-off, said the BSA, which is funded by software
companies. The organisation conducted a software audit of London's
Campden Publishing and a specialist in font auditing and
management, Monotype, was brought in by Campden to do the same for
the firm's typefaces.
"Of particular concern, given the nature of Campden's business,
was the enormous number of unlicensed fonts they were discovered to
be using," said a BSA statement. "When completing the BSA's audit
report, Campden initially claimed to be using only one font, which
– for a leading publishing firm – was clearly incorrect."
Campden had found itself in financial problems and was the
subject of a management buy-in when new chief executive John
Pettifor took control of the company. After what is believed to
have been a tip-off from an ex-employee, the BSA contacted the
company about its software compliance.
Pettifor discovered that 95% of the Adobe software used by the
company, and 75% of the Microsoft software, was unlicensed. "This
came as a complete shock, although with the benefit of hindsight
perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised," said Pettifor. "Software
asset management is the last thing on your mind when you arrive at
a company that is struggling for cash. The business was in real
financial trouble and this issue wasn't even on the radar."
The situation with font management was even more serious. "Most
companies are dependent on fonts to communicate and for their
corporate identity," said Julie Strawson of Monotype. "For many
companies fonts are an integral part of their branding, and none
more so than publishers who rely on them to produce many distinct
publications."
The problem is complicated by the fact that some fonts can
arrive as part of other people's documents and can sometimes stay,
unlicensed, on a network. "Many do not recognise that fonts are
intellectual property just like any other kind of software and must
be paid for," said Strawson. "It is not a question of picking an
choosing which software you manage."
The company has now become fully compliant, but the cost of
doing so has landed on its books all at once. "I really wish this
had been sorted out long before I arrived, said Pettifor.
"Purchasing licences for each piece of software may have taken a
little time, but it would also have helped spread the financial
outlay."
