BSA The Software Alliance has identified the building and manufacturing sectors as Australia's worst offenders in pirate software use.
In its latest case, a NSW-based exhibition stand designer and builder was rapped for illegal use of Microsoft Office, Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe Creative Cloud, valued at $50,000.
The organisation is urging Australian businesses to be aware of the use of unlicensed software and the business risks associated with it.
Former employees have been active in reporting illegal activity by businesses, according to BSA.
"This year's results to date are proof that Australians are still willing to take action against illegal activity. Furthermore, they demonstrate that illegal software use remains a challenge in the manufacturing and building industries across the country," said BSA senior director Asia-Pacific Tarun Sawney.
“A sound software asset management program with regular IT audits will ensure that businesses can avoid the damaging consequences of using unlicensed software, including serious cybercrime risks and losses, and get the best return on investment from their software license purchases, including data security by way of product updates and patching," said Sawney.
Each business caught using illegal software was required to purchase genuine software licenses and to pay the copyright infringement damages penalty.
Recently, the Asia-Pacific region registered the highest rate of unlicensed software use. The Software Alliance is currently offering rewards of $20,000 to people who disclose illegal use of software.
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