BSA fines SAE 2.5 million Euro for Software Piracy

London/Munich, 18.9.2007 – BSA Germany has fined SAE College, owned by Australian businessman Tom Misner, a record penalty of 2,5 million Euro after SAE was convictable of software piracy of a never before seen scale. As a result of a criminal complaint by BSA on behalf of Adobe, Autodesk, Avid and Microsoft SAE faces criminal prosecution with more penalties, as well as a possible jail term for its German director Andreas Grotloh of up to five years.

After all German SAE Colleges had been raided in early 2006, BSA secured an arrest order against SAE and all German liquid assets were frozen immediately. All German SAE’s educational computers were checked for unlicensed software in a co-ordinated raid in 2006, and German police was more than successful. As a consequence, SAE had to delete all pirate software and now has to purchase all licenses for software they teach just as every other company.

An internal source at SAE Germany, who has to remain undisclosed, explained: “The situation occurred because we were relying on one single employee, who was responsible for our software management in all German branches during a phase of extensive growth. Management was shocked when it discovered the size of the issue and had to learn that monitoring processes and tools could have avoided the situation."

This “scapegoat version” of an uninformed management is not supported by an extensive email correspondence we received from a source which also has to remain undisclosed. The correspondence proofs that BSA already nearly nailed SAE on software piracy at the end of the 90ies. This was ultimately avoided by SAE’s top management getting directly involved and collect SAE software licenses from over 30 colleges to cover the software licenses needed for the Singapore college. In particular, the following people were involved in this email correspondence:

- Tom Misner – referring to www.sae.edu the “Founder, CEO and President”.



- Rudi Grieme – referring to www.sae.edu the “Managing Director and Senior Vice President”



- Philip Kilic - at the time General Manager of SAE Asia

The correspondence does not only reveal how wrong the official statement is. It also becomes clear how SAE’s top management systematically planned and executed profit maximization by knowingly using pirate software all over the world, whilst always being prepared to be able to cover any single college at a time by collecting the few licenses all over the world. SAE did not expect a raid that would affect more than one college at a time and though to “get away” with it – which worked out perfectly for at least ten years before they got busted. Finally, it appears that the criminal energy caught up with SAE – although the mastermind still seems to get away with it by sacrificing others.

As a result, BSA and SAE entered into an agreement forcing SAE to pay 2.5 million Euro. Sadly though it has to be mentioned that BSA, representing honorable software companies who would be expected to not enter into a foul deal, obviously agreed to not mention the brand name SAE in any press release and therefore missing out on the educational effect this could have had. A compliment to the SAE lawyers to allow Tom Misner to keep going with his criminal and ruthless business practices so proudly described in “The Misner Factor”.

Robert Holleyman, President and CEO of BSA explains: "This success demonstrates our global weight and the results of worldwide campaigns against software piracy. Software by BSA members was of vital importance for SAE, and still SAE did not properly administrate this asset. As a consequence of our campaign, SAE has to play by the rules now – but the price they pay is much higher than if they had initially thought about implementing tools and processes to comply.”

However, Holleyman forgets to mention the price the former SAE employee who did not only report the piracy to BSA, but fought for BSA and justice for nearly 5 years. The ex employee who has to remain undisclosed quit SAE in mid 2002 after he found out about irregularities in the software licensing of the company. After confronting Tom Misner with his finding, he was bullied by top management and degraded in his function which made him leave the company.

After leaving the company, his life became a nightmare. He was defamed publicly, accused of an arson at SAE Munich (where important evidence in regards to software piracy disappeared), accused of signature forgery and faced multiple ridiculous claims. “Strangers” even broke into his house in Munich and removed documents and evidence.


After SAE was raided, the ex employee received multiple murder threats, was followed and threatened openly. This peaked in imprisonment on remand for the ex employee after he tried to defend himself against an anonymous attacker in summer 2006. He was only released after 7 weeks. Ironically, the same state attorney who capitalized on the software raid against SAE, German “Oberstaatsanwalt” Gierschik, refused to release the employee on bail.

The ex employee is more than disappointed about the final outcome. He is under the impression that BSA does not fulfill what it promises. BSA was not only unable to give him anonymity and therefore exposed him to threats and violence, but also accepted “hush money from SAE”. Whilst BSA comes out as a big winner, SAE still prosecutes the ex employee and tries to ruin his life.

Asked if he would recommend to work together with BSA and report software piracy, he says: “BSA has no interest whatsoever to protect their sources, and does not even give promised anonymity. My last hope was that my reputation would be re-instated by the press release, after I had been publicly humiliated by SAE. But even that didn’t happen, so I can only recommend to shut up and mind your own business. Neither German authorities nor BSA care about you at all.”

SAE muss EUR 2.5 Mio fuer Softwarebetrug zahlen

London/München, 18.9.2007 – Die BSA hat sich mit SAE Gesellschaft f. Studiotechnik mbH auf die Rekordsumme von 2,5 Millionen Euro geeinigt, nachdem der SAE erhebliche Mängel bei der Lizenzierung ihrer Software nachgewiesen wurden. In Folge einer Strafanzeige der BSA im Namen von Adobe, Autodesk, Avid und Microsoft SAE nun erhebliche Kosten für den Einsatz unlizenzierter Software, sowie eine Gefaengnisstrafe von bis zu 5 Jahren fuer den Geschaeftsfuehrer Andreas Grotloh ins Haus.

Die Anzeige der BSA führte zu polizeilichen Durchsuchungen der SAE Unternehmensstandorte und einem daraus resultierenden dinglichen Arrest des gesamten Vermögens. Die Schulungs - PCs wurden während der Durchsuchung in 2006 Jahr auf unlizenzierte Software überprüft. Die BSA führte eine koordinierte Ermittlung in den deutschen SAE Schulen durch, um den Mangel an Softwarelizenzen aufzudecken. Als Folge muss SAE nun alle unlizenzierten Softwareprodukte löschen und die korrekten Lizenzen für diejenigen Programme erwerben, die es in Zukunft einsetzen will. Für die große Zeitspanne der illegalen Verwendung wurde eine erhebliche Strafe erhoben.



Eine Quelle innerhalb des Unternehmens, die ungenannt bleiben muss, erklärte: "Diese Situation entstand, weil wir uns auf einen einzelnen Mitarbeiter verlassen haben, der die Einhaltung von Lizenzbestimmungen sicherstellen und unseren Softwarebestand an verschiedenen Standorten in einer Phase erheblichen Wachstums verwalten sollte. Das Management war schockiert, als es vom Ausmaß des Problems erfuhr und erkannte, dass Prozesse und Tools zum Software Management das alles hätten verhindern können."

Dieser Version widersprechen eine Vielzahl an Emails, welche uns aus Quellen, die ungenannt bleiben muessen, vorliegen. Diese Emails beweisen, dass die BSA bereits Ende der 90er Jahre kurz vor einem Schlag gegen SAE stand, welcher aber geschickt vom Top Management in letzter Sekunde verhindert wurde. Die Email Korrespondenz fand im Konkreten zwischen folgenden SAE Managern statt:

- Tom Misner – auf der SAE Homepage www.sae.edu als “Founder, CEO and President” aufgefuehrt

- Rudi Grieme – laut SAE Site Managing Director und Senior Vice President

- Philip Kilic – ein hochrangiger Manager der asiatischen SAE Niederlassungen

Die Email Korrespondenz widerlegt ncht nur das Statement, welches wohl darauf abzielt, das Management gut aussehen und einen “Suendenbock” buessen zu lassen: Sie belegt auch eindeutig, wie SAE ueber Jahrzehnte systematisch und geplant Softwarepiraterie und Betrug mit hoher krimineller Energie seitens des Top Managements betrieb. Dies diente zur Gewinnmaximierung eines Schulungsunternehmens, welches obendrein noch die Frechheit besass, die wenige Software, die eingekauft wurde, als “Schulungssoftware” zu titulieren, um auch hier Kosten zu sparen. Schulungssoftware ist normalerweise nur Not-for-Profit Schulungen zuzugestehen.

Als Ergebnis der internationalen Ermittlungen erzielte die BSA einen Gesamtvergleich mit SAE sowie eine Vereinbarung über zukünftige Zusammenarbeit und Audits. SAE’s groesster Erflog ist in diesem Falle wohl, dass BSA sic him Gegenzug zur Zahlung der Summe damit einverstanden erklaerte, das Unternehmen in seinem Press Release nicht namentlich zu nennen. Dies ist einem geschickten Team an SAE Anwaelten zu verdanken.

SAE tat gut daran, RA Florian Rombach, der sonst SAE in allen Belangen in Deutschland vertritt, in diesem Fall rechtzeitig zu elimieren – schliesslich liegen gegen diesen bereits eine Vielzahl von Beschwerden bei der Anwaltskammer Muenchen vor. Es ist auch anzunehmen, dass RA Rombach als persoenlicher langjaehriger Freund von Misner durchaus von der “Softwarepolitik” des Unternehmens Bescheid wusste. Schliesslich vertrat er SAE auch in der strafrechtlichen Untersuchung gegen Misner und Grotloh wegen Unterschriftenfaelschung und Betrug.

Robert Holleyman, President und CEO der BSA erklärte: "Dieser Erfolg demonstriert unser globales Gewicht und die Ergebnisse unserer weltweit vernetzten und koordinierten Kampagnen zur Einhaltung von Lizenzbestimmungen. Die Software von BSA-Mitgliedern war für diese Firma von zentraler Wichtigkeit, und dennoch hat sie dieses Unternehmenskapital nicht ordentlich verwaltet. Durch unsere Aktion hält sich die Firma wieder an das Urheberrecht, doch zu einem wesentlich höheren Preis als dem, den sie bezahlt hätte, wenn sie von Anfang an Software Asset Management-Prozesse eingerichtet hätte."
Was Holleyman zu erwaehnen vergisst ist, dass der Erfolg zu einem nicht unerheblichen Teil auf dem Ruecken eines ehemaligen Mitarbeiters der SAE ausgetragen wurde. Dieser Mitarbeiter, der ungenannt bleiben muss, kuendigte Mitte 2002, als er aufgrund seiner offenen Opposition gegen Tom Misner vom gesamten SAE Management geschnitten wurde. Diese Dissonanz mit Misner entstand, da der Mitarbeiter zufaellig Einblick in Misners Luegengeruest bezueglich Softwarelizenzen bekam und Misner direkt darauf ansprach.

Nach seiner Kuendigung wurde er nicht nur bedroht und offen diffamiert, sondern auch mit einer Vielzahl von Strafanzeigen ueberschuettet.

Als SAE erstmals von den BSA Anzeigen erfuhr, erhielt der ehemalige Mitarbeiter Morddrohungen von “unbekannten Personen”. Die Liste der Repressalien liest sich wie ein Kriminalroman – vom Einbruch in die Wohnung des Mitarbeiters ueber eine Strafanzeige gegen ihn wegen Brandstiftung, als bei einem SAE Buerobrand zufaellig Beweise verbrannten, bis hin zu einer Untersuchungshaft gegen den ehemaligen Mitarbeiter, als dieser sich gegen einen “unbekannten Verfolger” zur Wehr setzen musste.

Der Mitarbeiter empfindet es als einen Schlag ins Gesicht, dass SAE von BSA geschuetzt wird, nachdem das “Schweigegeld” bezahlt wurde, waehrend SAE den ehemaligen Mitarbeiter weiter verfolgt.

Auf die Frage, ob er empfehlen kann, mit der BSA zusammenzuarbeiten, sagt er: “Die BSA hat kein Interesse daran, einen Informanten auch nur im Geringsten zu schuetzen. Auch die versprochene Anonymitaet kann aufgrund des deutschen Rechtssystemes nicht eingehalten werden. Meine letzte Hoffnung war, dass ich durch den Pressrelease der BSA rehabilitiert werde. Auch das trat nicht ein. Ich kann nur davon abraten, Softwarepiraterie zu melden, da weder der deutsche Staat, noch die BSA einem den notwendigen Rueckhalt geben.”

London/Munich, 18.9.2007 – BSA Germany has fined SAE College, owned by Australian businessman Tom Misner, a record penalty of 2,5 million Euro after SAE was convictable of software piracy of a never before seen scale. As a result of a criminal complaint by BSA on behalf of Adobe, Autodesk, Avid and Microsoft SAE faces criminal prosecution with more penalties, as well as a possible jail term for its German director Andreas Grotloh of up to five years.

After all German SAE Colleges had been raided in early 2006, BSA secured an arrest order against SAE and all German liquid assets were frozen immediately. All German SAE’s educational computers were checked for unlicensed software in a co-ordinated raid in 2006, and German police was more than successful. As a consequence, SAE had to delete all pirate software and now has to purchase all licenses for software they teach just as every other company.

An internal source at SAE Germany, who has to remain undisclosed, explained: “The situation occurred because we were relying on one single employee, who was responsible for our software management in all German branches during a phase of extensive growth. Management was shocked when it discovered the size of the issue and had to learn that monitoring processes and tools could have avoided the situation."

This “scapegoat version” of an uninformed management is not supported by an extensive email correspondence we received from a source which also has to remain undisclosed. The correspondence proofs that BSA already nearly nailed SAE on software piracy at the end of the 90ies. This was ultimately avoided by SAE’s top management getting directly involved and collect SAE software licenses from over 30 colleges to cover the software licenses needed for the Singapore college. In particular, the following people were involved in this email correspondence:

- Tom Misner – referring to www.sae.edu the “Founder, CEO and President”.



- Rudi Grieme – referring to www.sae.edu the “Managing Director and Senior Vice President”



- Philip Kilic - at the time General Manager of SAE Asia

The correspondence does not only reveal how wrong the official statement is. It also becomes clear how SAE’s top management systematically planned and executed profit maximization by knowingly using pirate software all over the world, whilst always being prepared to be able to cover any single college at a time by collecting the few licenses all over the world. SAE did not expect a raid that would affect more than one college at a time and though to “get away” with it – which worked out perfectly for at least ten years before they got busted. Finally, it appears that the criminal energy caught up with SAE – although the mastermind still seems to get away with it by sacrificing others.

As a result, BSA and SAE entered into an agreement forcing SAE to pay 2.5 million Euro. Sadly though it has to be mentioned that BSA, representing honorable software companies who would be expected to not enter into a foul deal, obviously agreed to not mention the brand name SAE in any press release and therefore missing out on the educational effect this could have had. A compliment to the SAE lawyers to allow Tom Misner to keep going with his criminal and ruthless business practices so proudly described in “The Misner Factor”.

Robert Holleyman, President and CEO of BSA explains: "This success demonstrates our global weight and the results of worldwide campaigns against software piracy. Software by BSA members was of vital importance for SAE, and still SAE did not properly administrate this asset. As a consequence of our campaign, SAE has to play by the rules now – but the price they pay is much higher than if they had initially thought about implementing tools and processes to comply.”

However, Holleyman forgets to mention the price the former SAE employee who did not only report the piracy to BSA, but fought for BSA and justice for nearly 5 years. The ex employee who has to remain undisclosed quit SAE in mid 2002 after he found out about irregularities in the software licensing of the company. After confronting Tom Misner with his finding, he was bullied by top management and degraded in his function which made him leave the company.

After leaving the company, his life became a nightmare. He was defamed publicly, accused of an arson at SAE Munich (where important evidence in regards to software piracy disappeared), accused of signature forgery and faced multiple ridiculous claims. “Strangers” even broke into his house in Munich and removed documents and evidence.


After SAE was raided, the ex employee received multiple murder threats, was followed and threatened openly. This peaked in imprisonment on remand for the ex employee after he tried to defend himself against an anonymous attacker in summer 2006. He was only released after 7 weeks. Ironically, the same state attorney who capitalized on the software raid against SAE, German “Oberstaatsanwalt” Gierschik, refused to release the employee on bail.

The ex employee is more than disappointed about the final outcome. He is under the impression that BSA does not fulfill what it promises. BSA was not only unable to give him anonymity and therefore exposed him to threats and violence, but also accepted “hush money from SAE”. Whilst BSA comes out as a big winner, SAE still prosecutes the ex employee and tries to ruin his life.

Asked if he would recommend to work together with BSA and report software piracy, he says: “BSA has no interest whatsoever to protect their sources, and does not even give promised anonymity. My last hope was that my reputation would be re-instated by the press release, after I had been publicly humiliated by SAE. But even that didn’t happen, so I can only recommend to shut up and mind your own business. Neither German authorities nor BSA care about you at all.”