The Challenge               

While computer software piracy, including the use of unlicensed software, is a rampant problem throughout the world for companies that write and sell software programs, the truth is that it is a problem for almost every person on the planet. For good or bad, our modern lives depend on computers and the software that runs them. Computers are useless without software, and basic economics dictates that companies that write and sell software will ultimately stop doing so if their work is ubiquitously stolen. And even if the problem has not gotten to that point yet, those who properly license their software end up “paying for” all those who do not through higher prices.

Dassault Systèmes Solidworks (DS Solidworks) is in the business of developing and selling 3D CAD software, including its flagship product Solidworks, which is used by a variety of businesses to design and produce the items they market. Like many software companies, DS Solidworks found that shortly upon the release of any new software, hackers devise ways to circumvent the technical license control mechanism – such as requiring a unique license key (provided when a license is purchased) to be entered during installation – built into the software to dissuade unlicensed use. Those hackers then make available on the internet (typically for a fee) “crack” programs that are used to circumvent the license control mechanism, thereby enabling the user to install a copy of Solidworks without purchasing a license. It is virtually impossible to identify and pursue the hackers, though, because while they may physically be located anywhere in the world, for all practical purposes they are untraceable and do not exist except in the ether of the internet.

The Solution

Faced with this problem, DS Solidworks has partnered with Harness IP for many years to combat the unlicensed use of its software. Using publicly available information, DS Solidworks and Harness IP identify the entity responsible for the unlicensed use, which then receives a cease and desist letter from Harness IP.

After that, DS Solidworks and Harness IP work in tandem to amicably resolve each situation with the entity or user of the unlicensed software. A member of DS Solidworks’ compliance team contacts the user first and offers to resolve the situation if the user simply compensates DS SolidWorks for the past unlicensed use of the software. This resolution commonly includes the user purchasing one or more legitimate SolidWorks licenses. This approach is ultimately the most favorable resolution for the user, and even though the compensation is substantially less than the statutory damages and attorneys’ fees that would be awardable in a lawsuit, it amicably accomplishes DS Solidworks’ goal of ensuring that use of its software is licensed. Indeed, that is how most cases are resolved.

If a user chooses not to resolve the case in this manner, though, Harness IP takes over and tries to negotiate a settlement – usually one that is substantially less favorable to the user than that offered by DS Solidworks’ license compliance team. Sometimes even these efforts fail, in which case DS Solidworks is forced to pursue legal enforcement of its copyrights in federal courts. Over the years, Harness IP has filed many federal court complaints around the country for copyright infringement and circumvention under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) on behalf of DS Solidworks. When pushed to this point, DS Solidworks aggressively pursues the full extent of awardable statutory damages and attorneys’ fees. In every case, the end result has been a judgment or settlement that far exceeds DS Solidworks’ prelitigation settlement offer, which reinforces the fact that it is always most favorable for a user to resolve these situations with DS Solidworks’ license compliance team at the beginning.

At the end of the day, DS Solidworks’ goal is not to litigate but simply to ensure that users of its software purchase legitimate licenses. But where it cannot resolve unlicensed use of its software through the purchase of a legitimate license, the company does not hesitate to enforce its copyrights in court to the fullest extent possible. The combined efforts of the DS Solidworks’ license compliance team and Harness IP results in many millions of dollars of collected revenue every year that would otherwise be lost to piracy.