Last year Tekla joined the ranks of other leading software and hardware companies as a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Tekla takes part in the BSA anti-piracy program in EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Recent raids in the Philippines, Indonesia and China prove that cooperation is paying off.
The BSA membership provides Tekla an international network to better protect its customers' investment by ensuring fair competition. At the same time Tekla has a chance to stress the importance of using legal versions of its products. BSA is a non-profit trade association established to advance the goals of the software industry regarding piracy. BSA Country Committees make annual plans of enforcement actions and report on their results. They also aim at influencing local legislations and media messaging to support anti-piracy.
In February 2008, piracy enforcement actions were conducted against two companies, one in the Philippines and one in Indonesia. The biggest catch turned out to be a Philippine steel consultancy company with hardware located in several offices in Pasig City. The raids were conducted by BSA authorized agents and assisted by representatives of local law offices and supporting companies. The piracy team conducted thorough examinations of all computer units in the company and found numerous illegal installations of Tekla, Microsoft and Autodesk software. Of 30 computer units, 16 units were installed with unlicensed Tekla Structures software. The total estimated cost of unlicensed software use was Php 28.5 million (ca. US$ 700,000/€ 450,000). In the raid to an engineering company offices in Jakarta, Indonesia, local BSA representatives found two unlicensed Tekla Structures software installations and several other instances of software belonging to other BSA members.
"At the moment the biggest problem area in terms of software piracy is China," says Mr Ari Nässi, Tekla's Area Director in Malaysia. In March 2008, a Chinese BSA representative agency conducted an administrative raid against a steel building company in Beijing and found four installations of pirate Tekla software. The agency issued an administrative penalty within about one month. According to Nässi, before any penalty actions, Tekla expects and encourages the caught companies to legalize their software. "About half of the Tekla Structures installations in the Philippines are illegal versions," he regrets to say. "However, through the BSA membership we get information on illegal software use much more efficiently than before and are able to enforce actions. Tekla partners and resellers in Asian countries have an active role in campaigning, rewarding reports of suspects, and consequently communicating towards them. We are making good progress together, and the existing Tekla customers very much encourage us to proceed with the raids to protect their own investment.
Says Mr Tarun Sawney, Director of BSA Anti Piracy in Asia: "Tekla has taken an active role right since the beginning of their membership, and in BSA we can see that they are serious about protecting their rights. Similar actions will soon be taken in Europe, and we highly recommend any Tekla software user to contact Tekla if they have whatsoever concern about the legality of their version." E-mail: piracy@tekla.com
For additional information, please contact:
Saku Järvinen, Tekla Building & Construction; tel. +358 40 7071622; saku.jarvinen (a) tekla.com
Tekla Corporation
Tekla is an international software company whose model-based software products make customers’ core processes more effective in building and construction, energy distribution, infrastructure management, and water supply. Tekla Corporation has area offices and partner organizations worldwide. International operations account for 85% of net sales. Founded in 1966, Tekla is one of the oldest software companies in Finland.
Tekla Structures
By enabling the creation of the most accurately detailed and data-rich structural models, Tekla provides the building and construction industry with the best constructability on the market. Tekla Structures is premium-brand building information modeling (BIM) software that streamlines the delivery process of design, detailing, fabrication, and construction organizations. Its ability to process extensive amounts of data enables highly constructable 3D and 4D models that apply to every stage of design and construction and represent the 'as-built' condition of a building. Tekla Structures effectively integrates into any best-of-breed software driven collaborative workflow, which is the key to minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency, resulting in high profitability and on-time project completion. Tekla Structures encompasses specialized configurations for structural engineers, steel detailers and fabricators, precast concrete detailers and manufacturers, as well as construction companies.
BSA
BSA is a non-profit trade association established to advance the goals of the software industry regarding piracy. It represents one of the fastest growing industries in the world, working with member companies and in some cases with their distributors. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include major software providers, such as Adobe, Apple, IBM, Microsoft and SAP. BSA has a global organization and members in more than 80 countries with headquarters in Washington D.C in the US. More information at www.bsa.org