Illegal use of unlicensed software is an issue many law-abiding companies can find themselves on the wrong side of.
To ensure you remain legally compliant, appropriate measures should be taken to educate your employees on the impact of Software Piracy and secure your internal systems against the unauthorised download, installation and operation of illegally obtained computer software.
In our modern digital age, the use of unlicensed professional software can often go under the radar within an otherwise lawfully operating company and only come to light, at the point the software vendor makes contact.
Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS has advanced technology and processes to track the illegal use of its software packages and takes cases of illegal software piracy very seriously.
If unlicensed software is detected within a commercial setting, the company in question will be liable for damages to Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS.
These damages will usually be in the form of a commercial purchase of the relevant software packages that were found in use, through an appointed SOLIDWORKS Reseller.
If you’re on this page after being notified of a license compliance issue at your company, here’s are some details on what has triggered this and what to expect.
Detection
Dassault Systèmes have very advanced systems and processes to track the illegal use of their software. If you have been notified of a license compliance issue by their legal representatives, it means unlicensed software has been detected in connection with your company.
Notification
When the software has been detected, you will be notified of the issue by Dassault Systèmes UK & Ireland appointed Legal Representatives at CJCH Solicitors. This will usually be in the form of an email to your company but in some cases may be a letter.
Investigate & Response
You will be given the opportunity to investigate your internal systems and respond to CJCH with any findings. We recommend you take the opportunity to do this, as instances of false detections are extremely rare and, in all likelihood, there will be an unlicensed copy of SOLIDWORKS in play somewhere within the organization.
Mediation
Once the merit of the case has been established, you will be further contacted by a member of the Dassault Systèmes Compliancy Mediation team. At this point, you will be informed of the scale of the issue and what regulatory purchase would be required to resolve it.
The mediator will be able to work with you to understand if a different configuration of the software may be a better fit for your company and can alter the required purchase, as long as the case value is met.
Ultimately Dassault Systèmes would rather your company get’s the most out of whatever you purchase, so this is a good opportunity to look at your current & future needs and configure accordingly.
Purchase through authorised Reseller
The final stage is to complete the purchase through an appointed and authorised SOLIDWORKS reseller, such as SOLIDX.
If you’re already a SOLIDWORKS customer, the case will be referred to your existing supplier.
If you’re a new customer to SOLIDWORKS, a supplier will be appointed to you, but you can choose from any authorised supply in the UK & Ireland, if you would like to make your own selection.
Installation & Use
At this point you can begin using the newly purchased software.
If you successfully located the unlicensed copy, it’s very important this is fully removed from all devices, to stop the same compliance process being triggered in the future.
SOLIDX can help ensure you have successfully removed the unlicensed software and replaced with the legal copies.
For more information
About software piracy or to report piracy, log on to http://www.bsa.org or write to antipiracy@solidworks.com.”
Get in touch
Anything you need, get us anytime on 01223 857300.