Wait a minute…Forever 21 is in legal trouble over an intellectual property issue that doesn’t involve accusations that it ripped off another fashion company’s design? Yes, the fast-fashion superstore is being sued by three software companies that accuse it of pirating their expensive software. The lead plaintiff is Adobe, maker of professional software and a company that would definitely notice if an entire company were using unlicensed versions.

It used to be that a use could purchase a copy of a pricey program once, install it from a disc of some kind, and then use it into perpetuity as long as they held on to the disc and a compatible computer. (For example, I’ve been using Adobe CS3 since 2010 and regret nothing.) The rise of cloud computing and software as a service is better for software companies since they an depend on regular income between major releases. Consumers, however, have to pay monthly for programs per user, and we can see how a penny-pinching boss might not appreciate that.

The other software makers involved are AutoDesk, a maker of computer-aided design software, and Corel, maker of Paint Shop Pro and WinZip, among other programs. These companies also allege that Forever 21 was using pirated versions of their programs. “Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon allege that Defendants continued
their infringing activities even after being contacted by Adobe regarding the infringement,” the companies’ lawyers write in the initial complaint.

They ask that Forever 21 stop using the alleged stolen software, that they destroy ill-gotten copies floating around on office computers, and the companies also ask that their damages be calculated based on the profits that Forever 21 earned using the allegedly ill-gotten software.

Adobe is suing Forever 21 for pirating Photoshop [The Verge]

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