According to a recent decision¹ issued by the State Court of Rio Grande do Sul, software companies do not bear the burden of proving that their software is being used without a license.
In this case, an inspection was carried out at the defendant’s premises and showed that the software was installed on its computers. Since the defendant did not submit the respective licenses, the court found that the use of the software was illegal.
The appeal was granted to reverse the lower court’s decision and, following the understanding of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice, order the defendant to refrain from using the unlicensed software and pay damages corresponding to ten times the market value of each software irregularly installed.
¹ Lawsuit no. 0347947-74.2017.8.21.7000