Solicitor sued over alleged illicit software

One of two companies facing court action by anti-piracy body

Two companies are being sued for allegedly using scores of unlicensed copies of software, predominantly Microsoft Office.

The cases against Harrow-based teleconferencing provider ACT, and solicitors Thompson & Co, of Tooting Broadway in London, are part of a clampdown on more than 100 companies suspected of unauthorised use of software.

They follow an investigation by the UK arm of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) whose members include Microsoft, Symantec and Apple.

A High Court claim against ACT alleges that 125 of its machines used unlicensed software; the solicitors face a claim in the Central London County Court that they used 23 PCs with unlicensed software.