by Simon Quicke7 January 2009
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has settled with a
Liverpool-based man that had been suspected of selling illegal software online.
The case first came to light last October when the BSA started
an investigation into John Rothwell, who allegedly sold its investigators
multiple pirated copies of design software with a total retail value upwards of
£2,000 for around £29.
Rothwell settled with the BSA for £5,000 in damages concluding
a legal procedure that was kicked off when the lawsuit was filed last autumn.
The BSA had discovered that iOffer.com, where Rothwell was a seller, was
selling illegal products including copies of Adobe, Avid, CorelDRAW and
Microsoft Office 2007.
The website billed itself as a ‘trading community’ providing an ‘alternative
to frenetic and hyper-competitive web marketplaces’.
But since the lawsuit was filed Rothwell ceased trading in illegal software
and has now come to an agreement with the BSA.
Julie Strawson, chair of the BSA UK member committee, said that although the action
against Rothwell might not have seemed to be serious it did have an impact on
legal competitors.
“We hope an important message has been conveyed: if you’re purchasing
software over the Internet and the price looks too good to be true, it probably
is – there is a strong chance the product could be pirated,” she said.
“If you are selling unlicensed software over the internet, think about the
effects and remember – you are not anonymous and you will get caught,” she added.
