A COMPANY involved in the construction of the crown of the Q1 Tower has been caught out by the Business Software Alliance in a software piracy sting.

Orrcon Operations, one of Australia's largest steel tubing manufacturers, settled with the BSA for $200,000 after an audit found it had been using unlicensed versions of Adobe, Microsoft, Autodesk and Symantec software.

The problem had been overlooked because of deficiencies in Orrcon's record-keeping and software licensing procedures.

The BSA recently released its fifth-annual global PC software piracy study. The study shows that despite a drop in piracy rates, almost a third of all software installed on Australian PCs in 2006 was still obtained illegally - totalling $622 million in losses to the industry.

The findings, coupled with the recent settlements paid to the BSA by two Queensland companies over unlicensed software, highlight the fact many businesses leave themselves open to the risks associated with poor Software Asset Management (SAM) procedures and unlicensed software use.

One of the businesses involved is Go Transit, a Queensland-based media agency that provides transit advertising from Cairns through to Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast.

The company settled with the BSA for $5488 after an informant alerted the industry body to the fact Go Transit was using unlicensed Adobe and Microsoft software.

As part of continuing efforts to ensure companies employ adequate SAM and avoid using unlicensed software, the BSA recently filed legal proceedings against several other major Australian companies - including two telecommunications and internet service providers and a shopfitting company.