Both sides say they are happy with the outcome

True to form, Bill Caralis has settled out of court rather than allow software giants Microsoft and Adobe to take the their alleged piracy suit against him to trial.

At the heart of the matter was accusations by the Business Software Alliance (BSA, representing the software copyright holders) that there was systematic illegal copying of software throughout the Super Network. Having found smoking guns at Caralis stations in both Dubbo and Young that lead them to allege that unlicensed copies of their applications were being used, BSA suggested to the Federal Court that it was a reasonable assumption that what was happening at Dubbo and Young, was happening across the entire network.

However their application to the Federal Court on May 27 for permission to investigate all 38 Supernetwork stations, was quashed by presiding judge, Justice Foster who made it clear that unless BSA could produce direct evidence that that was the case he would not allow them to go on a fishing expedition to find out.

Nonetheless, as part of the settlement Mr Caralis has agreed to conduct a software audit of his network’s other stations.

In a statement sent to radioinfo the BSA confirmed the following.

Sydney, Australia, 5 August, 2013 – BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA) and Super Radio Network today announced the settlement and final resolution of court proceedings relating to allegations of infringement of copyright in Adobe and Microsoft software products. 

Super Radio Network has agreed to pay a sum of money as part of the settlement. 

Super Radio Network has also agreed to conduct a software audit across all of its radio stations to ensure future compliance. 

Clayton Noble, BSA Australia Committee Chair, said “BSA is pleased with the settlement, and congratulates Super Radio Network for agreeing to take proactive software asset management (SAM) measures in the future to ensure that all software in use is genuine and licensed.”

While Mr Caralis is describing the sum he paid to make the case go away as “infinitesimal,” Microsoft lawyer Clayton Noble, said it was “a good case for us.”

He told The Australian, “Quite a lot of them settle, which is always a good result for us at the BSA because obviously we want to resolve these things in a way that is beneficial to both parties.

“The message is, if you’re running a business and you’re not sure your software is properly licensed, it’s a good reminder to check. Using software without licences is an infringement of copyright and it can have serious legal consequences,” Mr Noble said.