New Year message comes after London practice hit with £3k bill

architecture office

An east London practice has said software providers’ hardline stance on licensing could put small firms out of business.

Hackney-based Kyson was forced to shell out £3,000 after it was found using unlicensed applications in an investigation by the Software Alliance. The company was asked to carry out an internal audit following a tip-off to the watchdog that it was using unlicensed Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft software.

But Scott Kyson, the founder of the 10-strong practice, told BD: “I have been surprised by the aggressive approach taken by the Software Alliance towards small enterprises.”

And he claimed the Alliance’s attitude could send some fledgling practices under: “The timing of their approach prompted us to restructure our entire set-up, and I am concerned this approach may be detrimental on smaller businesses that may be falling on harder times.”

Julian Swan, the Software Alliance’s compliance marketing director, admitted that many small firms are not well-funded enough to employ full-time IT staff to keep on top of issues such as licensing.

He added that 7% of all legal action by the Alliance in the past three years had been against architects. “Most architects are classified as small companies so may not have the resources to have a specialist IT department,” he said.

“Many employ a growing number of freelancers and the number of valid software licences may not match that growth.” But he said architects shouldn’t be treated as a special case just because they were small. “I would have thought that, because architects are selling intellectual property themselves, they would have shown greater respect for it.”

He added that a third of architects it had surveyed admitted illegal software could be being used at their practices. “The sector needs to show an appreciation for the value of software. Too often it is perceived as a basic utility.”

An epidemic of software piracy?

Research carried out by the Software Alliance found that only 14% of architecture firms are very confident the software in their firm is being used properly.

It claimed 36% of firms admitted illegal software could be in use at their company, and found that just 9% think intellectual property (IP) is valued within their company. The alliance’s director of compliance marketing, Julian Swan, said: “That’s an extraordinary figure when you consider that IP is effectively what architects are selling to
their clients.”

He said too many firms had a “lacklustre approach to software management” and added: “When a company’s productivity, reputation and finances are at stake, software management should be taken seriously.”