Soho House fined over alleged illegal software use

Soho House told the Evening Standard that it had settled the case after it was unable to find 13 Microsoft Office licences out of the 250 it had purchased. It believes that they were lost in an office move.

However, the case is being used by the Business Software Alliance to highlight that whether unlicensed software is being used knowingly or unknowingly, it is still illegal.

The alliance has launched a campaign to highlight the problem, which it says takes revenues away from technology and creative companies -- a sector employing over 500,000 in London.

Alyna Cope, spokesperson for BSA's UK country committee, said: "Businesses which persist in installing and using illegal software are infringing copyright legislation and directly threaten the business environment at the heart of London's growth -- particularly in the vital technology and creative sectors.

"The amount of software used illegally in the capital remains unacceptable, and we'll continue to take strong enforcement action to bring the piracy level down."

The BSA is inviting people to conduct a "software health check" to find out if any of their software is being used illegally.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com