Attachment Corporation v Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (43363/11) [2014] ZAGPPHC 89 (20 February 2014)

Attachment Corporation v Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (43363/11) [2014] ZAGPPHC 89 (20 February 2014)

The court found that the defendant breached the license agreement by installing 1,564 unlicensed copies of the plaintiff's software, as established by the KPMG audit. Clause 2(f) of the license agreement did not protect the defendant because both Central Management and Require Activation options were not selected...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2014] ZAGPPHC 89
Parties
Plaintiff: Attachment Corporation; Defendant: Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
20 February 2014
Case Number
43363/11
Procedural Posture
Civil Trial / Final Judgment
Outcome
Plaintiff's claim for license fees succeeds; claim for maintenance fees is dismissed.
Judges
Tuchten
Legal Topics
Software Licensing, Breach of Contract, Quantification of Damages, Maintenance Agreement, Contractual Interpretation
Commercial and Corporate Civil Procedure Software Licensing Breach of Contract Quantification of Damages Maintenance Agreement Contractual Interpretation

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Attachment Corporation

Plaintiff

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Trial / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendant breached the license agreement by installing more copies of the plaintiff's software than permitted.
  2. 2 Whether the defendant is liable to pay license fees for unlicensed copies discovered during the audit.
  3. 3 Whether the defendant is liable for maintenance fees for unlicensed copies under the maintenance agreement.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the defendant breached the license agreement by installing 1,564 unlicensed copies of the plaintiff's software, as established by the KPMG audit. Clause 2(f) of the license agreement did not protect the defendant because both Central Management and Require Activation options were not selected during installation. The defendant is therefore liable to pay the applicable license fee for the unlicensed copies. The court rejected the plaintiff's claim for maintenance fees on unlicensed copies, holding that the maintenance agreement only covers licensed copies and does not extend to unlicensed ones. The court determined that the applicable license fee is the discounted SITA...

Court Disposition

Plaintiff's claim for license fees succeeds; claim for maintenance fees is dismissed.

Orders

  • The defendant is ordered to pay the plaintiff the sum of R1,168,495.
  • The defendant is ordered to pay interest on the sum of R1,168,495 at 15.5% per annum from 14 December 2009 to date of payment.