Denva Industries fined for using pirated Siemens software

Denva Industries, a Melbourne-based engineering company, has been required to pay an undisclosed amount of damages for its use of unlicensed Siemens PLM NX software.

Under the settlement with BSA | The Software Alliance, the company will also have to buy software licences. The management of Denva Industries has agreed to install software asset management (SAM) which ensures that all software used by the company is legal.

According to BSA Australia committee chair Clayton Noble, software piracy settlements with the Australian engineering industry have dropped from 50 per cent in 2012 to approximately 30 per cent as of 2014.

“While the engineering industry has shown a growing understanding of the importance of using properly licensed software, the Denva Industries case serves as an important reminder that there is more to be done,” he said in a statement.

“Some businesses think they can save money by using unlicensed software, but they don’t consider the larger financial and reputation risks they are taking. Aside from the risks associated with getting caught, they’re also jeopardising the security of their company’s computer systems and data if they don’t use licensed software.”

Sixteen cases of software pirating were settled by the BSA in Australia during 2013, a marked increase from 2010 when only six cases were settled.

Copyright infringement damages totalling $536,050 were paid by the businesses. This was a 20 per cent increase on amounts paid in 2012.

One of the 2013 settlements was with Cylinder Head Innovations, a Melbourne-based design and manufacturing company. It was required to pay an undisclosed amount of damages for its use of unlicensed Siemens PLM NX software.

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