BSA 'show of force' over Scottish software licence breaches

Frazier International, one of the UK's main IT recyclers with subsidiaries in Malaysia and the US, has received a court summons over alleged breaches of software licensing laws. Clackmannanshire Council, the subject of a second summons, is a minor council in the heart of Scotland.

Details of either breach have not been revealed, but a spokesman for Frazier said: "When the CEO, Gordon McKie heard this, he was stupefied. He thought the problem was close to resolution and it had been inherited from the previous management."

Mike Newton, BSA spokesman, said: "We normally like to solve these cases amicably. But discussions have been going on for some months and we felt that it was time to demonstrate that we meant what we said."

Jackie McGuire head of legal services at Clackmannanshire, said: "We received the Court of Sessions summons yesterday mentioning Microsoft. We are considering our opinion and could not comment until the officers and members have been consulted."

Newton said he was not at liberty to give any more details than that three actions had been started, two in Sheriff's courts and one in Scotland's main Court of Sessions.

He added: "We normally settle one or two cases a day. Many upstanding organisations have fallen into this sort of trap."

Newton explained that the trap could be anything from exceeding the authorised numbers of people on a licence to buying counterfeit software.

Frazier issued a statement saying it will "now be approaching the Business Software Alliance for a full explanation of the present situation."

The statement also says "Frazier International abhors the use of unlicensed software and rigidly conforms to its copyright obligations. The existing management have addressed the issue both amicably and openly with the Business Software Alliance".