The US government has agreed to settle a piracy lawsuit with software maker Apptricity. It was determined that the military used pirated logistics software from Apptricity for years and despite initially seeking nearly a quarter billion in unpaid licenses, the company ultimately settled for $50 million.
Back in 2004, Apptricity agreed to license enterprise software to the US Army. The agreement permitted the Army to use the software on five servers and 150 standalone devices. Since that time, however, the software has been illegally copied and used in missions across the globe.
It wasn't revealed that the military illegally installed the software on other devices until 2009 when the US Army Program Director noted that several thousand devices were running Apptricity software.
Specifically, Apptricity claims the government has used their software in the Middle East and to help coordinate emergency management initiatives like the relief efforts in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake that devastated the region. In total, the software was found on 93 servers and more than 9,000 standalone devices - far more than were contracted for in 2004.
Based on licensing fees of $1.35 million per server and $5,000 per device, Apptricity said they were owed $224 million in licensing fees but after negotiations on both sides, the parties agreed on $50 million.
The issue isn't expected to tarnish the relationship between the two as both expect to continue their business relationship moving forward. According to Tim McHale, an Apptricity senior adviser and retired major-general, the relationship will in fact grow exponentially.