SOFTWARE PIRACY FINES TOTALLING $443K
ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK

Thousands more reasons to buy SofTrack and stay license compliant....

San Rafael, CA - July 15, 1998
Autodesk today announced it has settled a major software piracy case for  more than $135,000 against Timmons PC, an engineering consulting firm based in Richmond, Virginia. The Timmons case is the biggest in a slew of settlements announced today by Autodesk, the world’s fourth-largest software company and an industry pioneer in the fight against software theft.

"Software theft is a major problem not only for our company but for everyone, since it affects jobs, wages, tax revenues and funds available for research and development," said Sandra Boulton, director of Autodesk’s anti-theft department. "To Timmons’ credit, the company have moved rapidly to cooperate with us in correcting the situation and we appreciate the way it has approached the problem."  

The Timmons settlement, Autodesk’s largest to date in 1998, resulted from a call to Autodesk’s anti-theft hotline, 1-800-NO COPIES. The call led to a software audit at three Timmons’ offices in Virginia, with the company’s full cooperation. 

"We are a long-time Autodesk customer with more than 70 legal licenses of AutoCAD® and Softdesk® Civil/Survey software, but frankly we didn’t monitor our licenses and usage, nor did we read the license agreements as closely as we should have," said Charles Warren, company president. "Recent growth at the company has resulted in the need for us to buy more hardware and software to meet the growing need to serve the client, and the expertise of our personnel. Unfortunately, in the growth mode we didn’t monitor and manage our CAD software usage and licenses as well as we should have. The result was CAD software on more computers than we had licenses to support." 

AutoCAD and other Autodesk software products were found on approximately 15 more personal computers than were licensed. To settle the case, Timmons has agreed to pay Autodesk more than $135,000. The settlement funds will be applied to the purchase of AutoCAD and Softdesk software to replace the unauthorized copies plus penalties arising from the improper use. The company also has agreed to establish clearer software usage guidelines and to educate employees about legal software use. 

Autodesk has a large ongoing caseload against companies that use software illegally, according to Boulton.. "The sheer volume of software piracy cases we encounter reflects the fact that many people realize neither the broad implications nor the immediate damage they can do to their reputation and financial well-being when they copy software illegally," she said. 

Other Autodesk settlements announced today include:

• A settlement of more than $74,000 against Lago Vista, Texas-based O’Connell Robertson & Associates, an architectural and engineering firm specializing in hospital design.
• A settlement of more than $49,000 against Tsuchiyama & Kaino, a mechanical engineering and consulting firm based in Irvine,California.
• A settlement of more than $29,000 against Charlotte, North Carolina-based Orkan Architecture.
• A settlement of more than $25,000 against Martin Riley Mock Architects/Consultants, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• A settlement of more than $36,000 against Roseland Engineering, a firm based in Ozark, Missouri.
• A settlement of more than $28,000 against Media, Pennsylvania based Robert H. Linn & Associates, an architectural firm.
• A settlement of more than $67,000 against Lessard Architectural Group, based in Vienna, Virginia.

With the settlements announced today, Autodesk is on track for a record amount of recoveries in 1998. To date, Autodesk has recovered more than $30 million from illegal users of its software since the company’s anti-theft program began in 1989.

The Autodesk cases are part of an accelerated industry-wide effort to fight piracy on a number of fronts, including Internet-based software theft; the distribution of counterfeit software at computer trade shows;piracy in schools, where illegal software reproduction is particularly vexing to software companies because of the example it sets for students; and in the business world, where companies often pay for one software license and make numerous copies.

Illegal software use costs software companies more than $11 billion annually and is linked to losses in employment, wages,  tax revenues and research and development funds. Autodesk works closely with both the Business Software Alliance  and the Software Publishers Association to address this problem. For more information on Autodesk’s anti-theft program, to  report suspected piracy, or to confirm that you are not violating your software license agreements, call Autodesk’s anti-theft hotline, 1-800-NO COPIES. 

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC design software and multimedia tools. The company's 2D and 3D products and data management tools are used in many industries for architectural design, mechanical design, mapping, film and video production, video game development and Web content development. Its Kinetix® division is the leader in PC-based 3D modeling and animation software, providing a full range of products for digital media   and design professionals.

The fourth largest PC software company in the world, Autodesk has over three million customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, contact any Authorized   Autodesk Reseller, call Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or fax requests for   information to 415-507-5100. For more information on Autodesk, please call   415-507-5000, type GO ADESK on CompuServe®, or visit Autodesk at  http://www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk shares are traded on the NASDAQ national market under the symbol ADSK.