pirated in the service of the company come expensive
By Sabine Philipp
© nmann77
– fotolia.com
That was bitter : The IT administrator of a medium-sized freight forwarding based in southern Germany was under enormous time pressure; the colleague was sick. And he had to keep it going the networks anyway. In his distress he installed at more than 200 computers throughout Germany a Software – having purchased the licenses. The fact of flying.
A former IT employee had submitted on the website of Software Alliance (BSA) the crucial tip. This was followed by a large-scale search operation in which the police discovered the pirated. The end of the story: The administrator was given a prison sentence of eight months on probation. Because he knew very well that his action was not legal.
Fortunately, such cases are rare. Nevertheless, 2014 was almost one in four applications (26%), which was installed last year on PCs in Germany, unlicensed. This is the conclusion the BSA Global Software Survey, for which the market research provider IDC has interviewed 24,000 IT professionals and users worldwide. This is, after all, a decrease of 2% over the previous year.
Risky gameplay without corporate reference
But not always come unlicensed software from above. Sometimes it is also the gatekeeper, the a computer game downloads in to sweeten the night shift. Or the marketing staff of a pirated copy of an otherwise very expensive image editing program installs itself. “In such cases, the employee who uses the software without permission of the copyright holder as a so-called perpetrator liable,” explains Peter Kaumanns, lawyer specializing in information technology law (IT law) at the Registry Terhaag & amp; Partner:
- “against this offender can make all possible civil claims of rights holders; He can, for example, seek an injunction and claim damages. The employer is also liable if the – still unwritten – criterion of, corporate relatedness’ the software is. ”
That is:
- “If the employee unlicensed software installed on company computers, which have nothing to do with the company, is leaving a liability of the employer according to the majority cited jurisprudence from “
Kaumanns here a judgment of the Landgericht München I dated 4 October 2007 (Az: 7 O 2827/07)., which is not about software, but to others copyrighted works went – namely music. This had a staff of a radio station with the file sharing system Limewire download and also other users provided, namely on the computer at work. The employer was sued by six affected record labels for damages. “Here, the court rejected a liability from the radio station because the musical works were not at all concerned by the bid of the radio station. If the employer benefits from the software, but the situation looks different. Then he must at least jointly liable as troublemakers “, says the lawyer.
Series: Unlicensed Software
- Part 1 clarifies when the company liable if pirated run on company computers.
- Part 2 warns of the BYOD risks and recommends a reasonable license management.
education and corporate policies
But is not the employer at license rights violations in the duty because he has just made to the employees or they are not informed? Because often do not know the employees that their conduct is illegal. According to BSA Global Software Survey, there are only every third German company a written company policy to use unlicensed software. And, as a further result: In companies without employees Directive give much more frequently (59%) to use unlicensed software, as in companies with the Directive (28%). This speaks for a relationship. “In the legal German one speaks of the failure to take reasonable inspection duties”, says Kaumanns. However, since dealing here with a vague legal term, must “be investigated whether it is possible to the employer or the administrator who maintains the systems yes accuse something.” Always in an individual case
There are a very basic principle in order to prevent in advance that counterparts download illegal software: awarded less admin rights. “Many companies go generous with the administrator rights to, you know, with those programs can be installed,” explains Thomas Schmedding, CEO of Licentia IT GmbH in Hamburg: “Most employees need for their work, but only user rights. It is so much gained by regimented this administration account accordingly in the Control Panel. “
- How do companies gain an overview of the software used and the state of licensing, tells Part 2 this series.
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