my company is getting this email By email only 19/07/2023 Re: SOLIDWORKS® and certain other software licenced by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation (including the SOLIDWORKS® Simulation line of analysis products, SOLIDWORKS® Composer, and the SOLIDWORKS® line of product data management products in all countries) ("the Software") Dear Sir, We act for Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation of 175 Wyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 USA ("our client"). Our client is the owner of copyrights in the Software, a copy of which is available for inspection at our client’s offices. The Software is original and the related intellectual property rights vest absolutely with our client. Our client has discovered that your company has been using SOLIDWORKS, without the necessary licenses, that is to say your usage has occurred without the consent of our client or any of its authorised resellers. According to the applicable national legislation, this is an infringement of our client’s copyrights in the Software. As a result of infringement of its copyright, our client is entitled to, inter alia, the following remedies: an inquiry as to damages for infringement of copyright including an inquiry as to additional damages pursuant to s97(2) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and damages pursuant to the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 and Directive 2004/48/EC or, at our client’s option an account of profits; Publication of any Judgment obtained; and Costs. If you are in any doubt as to your legal rights or if you have any queries or concerns, then we suggest you seek independent legal advice. We look forward to hearing from you before 21/07/2023. Next steps In the meantime, our client may contact you through its Compliance Team Mediators in order to resolve this matter. Please note that any purchase of the Software that has not been agreed either with our client’s Compliance Mediator or with us on behalf of our client, shall not be considered as a regularization of the unauthorized usage. Yours faithfully, and then this Good afternoon My name is Maria Vinces and I have been assigned to outline a case of unauthorized download of SOLIDWORKS, my role is to engage with you in order to consider resolving this matter without the need for further legal involvement. Please keep in mind that the mediation time is limited and we need to try to solve the case as soon as possible. Therefore, it would be ideal to schedule a call when convenient for you, and ideally on Monday, otherwise, please feel free to suggest a date and time in order to present the case in full. Already looking forward to connecting and assisting you further; Best Regards,

mine known person also received same letter about using cracked version of solidworks 2022, but he ignored everything as i said him from info on this forum (emails from 3ds.com and cjch), 1 year already, nothing more... they wanted 23k EUR for this usage... before he was using version 2015, there was no any problem (no any anti piracy mechanism inside) I think they enabled some hidden mechanism inside software to report non licensed usage (license server emulator), but it will not send info from first start of using, this mechanism somehow calculate hours used in program and only then send info to 3ds, because dates of usage which he received in letter was 1-2 weeks later of starting usage... Also per searching info how they got email we discovered that they sniff traffic or scan local outlook/email apps to find contacts, because my known person received email to company email, but there was no info anywhere about where he is using it, he also has dynamic ip which changes time to time, etc. ----------------------- Following your receipt of a letter sent by CJCH solicitors (Dassault Systems’ legal representative) on xxx,xxx 2022 to outline a case for unauthorized download of SOLIDWORKS within your company, I have been assigned to engage with you and consider how we can resolve this matter together and without the need for further legal involvement. From the security mechanism embedded in SOLIDWORKS, we are aware of an illegal download of SOLIDWORKS. Please find attached the technical information held by our lawyers relating to the unauthorized download of SOLIDWORKS and which will allow you to assess the nature of the allegation against your company. The total prejudice compensation value specified in this case is €21,000. Dassault Systems request that your company regularize the situation by paying damages for the amount indicated above, or as an alternative, we may accept the purchase of legal licenses with support subscription for an equivalent amount. If we can agree on an amicable resolution of this matter, Dassault Systems SOLIDWORKS Corporation will conclude the legal process and close the case. Please can you suggest a time for me to reach you to discuss this matter. In the event that we cannot reach an agreement by close of business on xxx,xxx 2022, this case will automatically be taken over by our internal team who will instruct CJCH to pursue financial damages for breach of Intellectual Property. --------------------------- PS: we are not from UK, from exUSSR country

Hi all, We've gotten through communication from Solidworks/CJCH about usage of their software without a license. Small business, you could say that their claim is valid. They're asking 8k in damages, or 7.5k for a license. We have engaged with the mediator, and run through financing options and discussed paying for a license - as we had no idea these forums existed. We haven't admitted that we've done this at any point. We're relatively unable to afford 7.5k, but they don't seem to care. Do we ignore as everyone else suggests in this forums, even though we've engaged with them up until this point, or is it too late? I've read many many threads - but I've never seen someone categorically say that they've never been followed up since - I've never seen someone come back 2 years later and post "oh yeah in the end it was fine, they didnt follow up". We've spoken to lawyers about this and they've said that they could potentially go through to criminal court if we for example folded the company or tried to sell on our assets. They suggest not ignoring as the damages & legal fees would be significantly higher than 7.5k should they choose to follow through. Help is appreciated.

Yesterday I have received an email from CJCH Solicitors about illegal use of SolidWorks. I found it this morning and stupid me replied before I googled... I have replied that I have removed the software and will be waiting for contact from Dessault to discuss a licence. What I didn't tell them: I have been using the legal software in my previous job. And I have been using their login after I left, but recently the login is not working anymore. I have used this for personal projects, not for my company. I now am very worried because I replied... hope I didn't mess this up by not checking google before replying. I tried to pull the email back, but 9 out of 10 times that doesn't work. Any advise for me in this specific situation? Should I send another email asking for proof and let them know I used a legal version? Or should I just ignore from now on? Many thanks in advance. Note: Until now, I have been using the free version of SketchUp for my company. But I get frustrated with it, because I can model so much faster and better in SolidWorks. I was already thinking of buying a SW licence from my local distributor. But I had to wait because before the 1st of April I could not reclaim VAT on my investment.

Hi all, I've had the standard CJCH email thing about using Solidworks without a license, however it seems quite cut and dry for us as we don't use it! Are they simply spamming all companies in the UK now? I've seen from this forum that it has been going on for years so perhaps they are just running out of people and going for anyone who uses CAD? Has anyone else had this? All the threads I read seemed to be from people that had pirated the software at some point. Further as it was I did call the company and speak to the lady noted in the email as I suspected it was a scam (we've had a few) and wanted to find out if she really worked for the firm. I was rather surprised to find it was a real thing and requested that she mail me their 'evidence' as she stated there wasn't a case active right now. In retrospect a bad idea as I should have picked up it was ambulance chasing from the 'there is no case' thing I feel we have a very solid 'we literally don't use this software' case that should be rather easy to send packing. Also ironically we were considering switching to Solidworks for some of our CAD needs but after this guess they've lost a customer and we will be sticking with Autodesk

Hi all I’m new here so please excuse me if I’m not following the correct protocol! Yes I’ve had a cracked copy of solid works on and off for years. CJCH (solidworks’s solicitors in Cardiff Wales) a week ago emailed me with the usual first threat letter (on a Friday afternoon giving me 3 days to reply), on the third day Vinces, some Spanish company in cahoots with cjch emailed me with their evidence, 3 mac addresses, only one of which was correct. Next day dassault systems in Coventry phoned me .and they left a message which I deleted without even listening to it (didn’t want it to wind me up). I have blocked them , and not answered them not engaged with them in any way. The issue is the letter is addressed to me and xxxengineering.ltd xxx being my surname. Yes I own that company name, but I bought it 20 years ago and never activated it, it’s a dormant company , it says so on companies house website, which is where they obviously got the name and address from. I also at the same time had a website constructed for xxxxxengineering (no mention of ltd). I have always used the email associated with the domain, because I like it . That website is 15 years out of date and the only connection there is the mobile phone which is still correct. I did produce a plastic product which I manufactured for 6 years and sold to a distributer, under the name of xxxxengineering. (not ltd.). The product was designed on one of there competitors products, which I can prove. They are claiming use from a date in 2018. I can also prove I have been in gainful employment during this period (ni and tax, wage slips ect) . I do not own property or have any savings. I no longer trade at all under any name and have officially closed the sole trader company about 18months ago. I have however been using solidworks for making hobby, non-commercial items on my 3d printer. A few questions: 1, is it true that they cannot pin your house address from a mac or IP address? 2, is it true that they would have to have my computer seized and pay for a forensic examination (via some sort of court order) 3, is it true that even then that "evidence" could still could not finger me, as It could be a hacked wifi? 4, legally can I just put “not known at this address” and pop any suspicious letters back in the post without opening them, or can I open them Sellotape it back up and return? 5, Is it worth me writing a letter telling them they are barking up the wrong tree, have not used it at all, let alone commercially and I’m not prepared to enter into negotiations, but am prepared to go to court and hand over any evidence the court requires? 6 , am I just over reacting? I am going to ignore them, but I’m concerned that if I go to court then it might go unfavourably for me as I will have made no effort to resolve the situation? Anyway thanks in advance Regards Great balls

since this seems to be "the place" for discussing, reporting and getting a hug after being sent a message from CJCH here comes mine! I have what I think is correctly translated to "sole trader business" ie. I have registered a company name, only employee etc. but I think this is why they targeted me. I got the first mail from CJCH at the beginning of the week, google translated (i would guess) into Swedish that I had unlawfully used the software, after throwing some laws on me and even a EU directive. I did what every sane person does when something like this happens and Googled it and that's how I ended up here, read all the recommendations to just ignore them so I did. Today I got the second mail, this time not from CJCH but from 3ds.com and they claim that the compensation will be €29,039 I mean that's way more then I get in a year of my dayjob! Or ofc. sign an subscription for the equivalent amount. Read the so called report, it lists 1 machine with 3 different mac-addresses (none that I have in my network) and a start date at 21/11/2019 brother-in-law was living with us then for about a year, maybe he did something like that I have no idea. I know, I know, just ignore them... Just afraid that since they have by small business address etc. they wont let it go that easy. Someone just give me a virtual hug ans tell me they'll go away if I ignore them PS. it feels a lot like the scare tactics that was on the rise earlier for downloading movies from the internet. Pay up or else... Not a single case went further then that in Sweden, ever... skrivare@procivitas.se_20220519_130139.pdf

Hi all New here, sadly with problem. This is B2B, not if this is allowed here. My business has been contacted by CJCH solicitors (by email), two days ago allegeing use of Solidworks without a license. Today we have been emailed again by a Maria Vinces of 3DS, with a techincal letter attached which included the mac address of two PC's and products with unauthorised use. Further to the email we also received a phone call from the above from a Spanish number to discuss this. I've basically told her to write to us and hung up. Thing is the two mac addresses detailed in the letter do not appear on our network. We also have a licensed copy of SW, installed and in use on the PC with a dongle, which we have had since 2012, and updated yearly until 2016 (this was via Solidcam). We have recently renewed our maintenance through Solidcam to the most recent version. To me this screams of a scam, hence the reson for posting here. Should I continue to ignore as has been suggested in other posts, or should I respond to their emails. Thanks SolidScam

I received a call and email today stating that my startup is using a pirated Solidworks. and they have asked me to confirm it in 2 days as well as they have given me Mac address of the user. Can you please guide with what step should be taken ? as i am afraid that if they ask for hefty fine, i wont be able to pay it and would go bankrupt.

Hello all, I have read a good few threads on solicitors fishing for unauthorised use of SW. But it seemed that in each case some sort of evidence was provided and one of the recurring advices was not to reply (if letter was sent via email only) Here is a copy paste of the letter I received (omitted company name and reference numbers just incase the [problematic] roam this forum as well): The letter was headed with FAO: to my name (guessing as they got this as I am the director of my one man ltd co) LETTER BEGIN Dear Sirs, +44 (0) 29 2009 9449 h.cramp@enforcement.cjch.co.uk Re: Unauthorised use of Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS software Our client: Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation (‘DS SolidWorks’) We are instructed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, 175 Wyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451, United States in connection with a potential copyright infringement as a result of unauthorised use of its software known as SOLIDWORKS. We want to alert you to a possible management oversight that could lead to an embarrassing situation for “company name” We have reason to believe that your company is using a copy of SolidWorks software that is not properly licensed from DS SolidWorks. This would constitute copyright infringement of our client’s SOLIDWORKS software in accordance with the national legislation and could therefore result in a serious and large monetary fines and penalties. Our client considers any possibility of unauthorised use and infringements of its copyright to be an extremely serious matter that requires your immediate attention. Therefore, if you believe that our information is incorrect, please confirm in writing within 2 working days from the date of this letter that neither Your Company nor anyone at Your Company is using unlicensed SolidWorks software. However, if you need any licenses to come into compliance, our client will work with you to acquire them. We look forward to hearing from you before 31 July 2019. In the meantime, our client reserves all its rights and remedies in this matter. LETTER END I was hoping to not reply but I received this while I am away and I had set out of office auto replies. I am not using unlicensed SW and never have. The licensed software is provided by my client. I think they may have detected some discrepancy for two reasons: 1) I downloaded a trial version on the client’s laptop using my company’s details and only used it during the trial (the reseller had actually provided an invalid serial at first) 2) I recently bought my own workstation and was given permission to use to client’s license on my workstation as opposed to using their laptop (which is very near its end of life). Should I respond and if so how should I word my response. I am surprised they never provided any evidence. They also stated ‘by email only’ in the pdf letter as well. Many thanks, abman

I got an infringement letter in the mail. I'm in the US but I'm going to post here because it the single best forum threads going regarding Solidworks. There are currently two oiler thread regarding this topic, they are linked at the bottom of this post. I received emails and a letter for the law firm Ha**ess D***ey representing Solidworks. Same exact letter as Robby212 (Post #121) in the first thread. We have a solidworks license but it's used by my partner in another state. I installed solidworks w/ bad license to check some drawings before sending out quotes. It was literally installed for 2 weeks before I got the letter! I don't need it so I just uninstalled it and changed my IP and MAC address. I have ignored all correspondence and will continue to do so until/if I receive a letter that a lawsuit has been filed. Fortunately my wife is an attorney and has some copyright experience. I also have dozens of immediate friends who are attorneys and can get the opinion of countless copyright attorneys. I don't need to use any version of solidworks and certainly can't pay $5600 or so they want. I simply don't need it. Our vendors and my partner do all the CAD. I should have just downloaded a free solidworks viewer if such a thing exists. I'll keep posting here if and when anything happens next.

Hi chaps. I know this is a few months on but I’ve supposedly received one of these emails from CHCJ and got a slightly different story. Im a designer who uses CAD (specifically Solidworks) regularly. However up until March this year, this usage was wholly on an employed basis under full license from the companies who employed me within their office premises. I have just set up on my own (as in - less than. 6 weeks ago) and after a bit of searching bought a second hand Solidworks machine I found on Gumtree which was loaded with what the chap assured me was a legit copy of Solidworks 2017 and 2018. (It’s perfectly normal to run these versions concurrently). As well as some ancillary software that runs alongside. I had always intended to get my own Solidworks licence - as I wanted to upgrade to 2019 anyway but obviously I tested the machine for a week or so to make sure it could handle what I needed and whether I needed to upgrade anything - I did, as it happened, and bought a hefty RAM Upgrade. (At this point I should note - just for detail that the machine is actually a high spec Mac Pro running windows on boot camp - I liked this idea as I also make music in my spare time and the opportunity to dual boot into a little studio set up was a big plus.) I then set up my emails etc. (The email is - I fear you’ll see this coming - linked to the business domain I own and have just set up) so it would be used in the office. However I then removed Solidworks and phoned up the local reseller in Cambridge to find out how light my wallet was about to get. - I know from experience you can buy a monthly license package which is slightly less eye watering. Brilliantly - they signed me up to this thing called the Solidworks entrepreneur programme which gives startups like me free Solidworks for the 1st year and a discount thereafter. Which I was accepted for and given a brand new temporary license that I installed on my newly clean system and a meeting set up with the reseller for next week (today) in order for him to visit my office and install a permanent version based on my needs. This is all seemed great until this Thursday I got a call from him saying that he’d been phoned by Solidworks to say that I wasn’t eligible for the programme because there was an ongoing piracy case against my company. I pressed him for more details and he said I should have received correspondence from the solicitor named in this thread in relation to allegations of using pirated software. Which I haven’t. - emails checked and checked again. He promised to phone back on Friday but didn’t. Im now terrified that I’ve used a pirated version of Solidworks on that machine - which will be linked to the domain and email i set up. - which has - like the other chap on this thread “design” in the name. And that I’ve just installed the license they gave me on the machine with the same MAC address and IP. I should mention that IF the versions which were already installed on the machine WERE pirated - then I can see no way of an unwitting user being able to tell. When the loading screen popped up after i clicked on the icon to launch Solidworks it read “verifying licenses” just as it should. I had no reason to think it wasn’t 100% kosher. Sorry for the ramble. Any thoughts? I can’t afford to pay for the whole thing in one hit. And the version on my machine was the top notch affair with about 6 different add-ons. I’ve literally just started my business and I’m terrified. I’ve got my first contract due to begin this week and as it stands I won’t be able to work.

Hi all, I have come across all of the other threads on this subject (of which there are a few!). I am making a separate thread about mine as I do not want to hijack another thread as my situation is a little different. I recieved a letter earlier in the week at work from CJCH solicitors (copy of letter attached). I have not recieved any emails previously to receiving it either like in the other cases I read about. I do have an illegal copy solidworks on the computer which I got about 4 weeks ago to learn how to use it for my own personal use. We dont have any use for solidworks at work either. Like in the other cases I have read about on the forum the letters and emails state ip addresses sometimes or some sort of evidence which mine doesn't. Also it might be worth mentoning that the machine that solidworks is installed on is on a vpn all the time. Not going to lie, this has really put the fear of god into me. I am not sleeping much and is pretty much all I'm thinking about at the moment. Amy advice will be HUGELY appreciated! cjch.pdf

moved you to the piracy forum. 100's of threads here on these scammers simply type it solidworks in our enhanced google searchbox not the search top right. Programmable Search Engine CSE.GOOGLE.COM clickme^^ bottom line - ignore stuff and all anyone can prove or do to you. dx

I have received the same letter om Friday from CJCH solicitors for Ansys infringement ..what i should do guys ??

Have just received a letter from CJCH solicitors claiming my company has been using a cracked copy of Solidworks 2017. We have 3 paid for seat of Solidworks 2015 and have never used either a legal or cracked version of Solidworks 2017. CJCH have said they are going to send me the MAC addresses of the computers that have used the cracked version. After discussion with my design team one of them has imported a couple of model files that were created on a cracked version of SW2017, these models were sent to us from a factory that we use to manufacture product in China. Any advise from anyone please :- 1 - Will opening a model made on cracked version of SW2017 have flagged up to them as if we had a cracked copy on our network? 2 - Is it infringement of copyright to open a file created on a cracked version? 3 - Do I just tell them one of our factories sent us a file that we opened and that we have since found out it was created from a cracked version of SW2017 and that they have no claim against us? Any advise gratefully accepted.

Ok a mate of mine has just had one of these letters all edging x y and z. Its very interesting that he doesn’t use nor has ever used the software yet they have by all accounts sent him a letter saying we have x amount of IP addresses and these Mac addresses, he is pretty computer savvy and checked them blocked all this Mac addresses that could have accessed the networks now could someone explain how with an IP address and a MAC address they could possibly try and pin this on him.

If using VPN is it safe to assume they cant get location identifying IP and network details?

Hi all New to this forum but have read all the threads about these Dessault cases with great interest. I received the same email yesterday and would be grateful if someone could tell me what the outcome of their situation was given that over a year has passed since this discussion was active....are you all in prison? Or sold your homes to pay for a licence?! A little bit about my situation; I am a designer and have from time to time used Solidworks although it is not my default package hence the reason I couldn't afford to lump out the thousands they ask. I am a soletrader and only do this as part of my income, the rest of time is spent lecturing at a university. If pressured I would probably buy the basic license to get them off my back but I fear they will press for the full premium pack which is mega £££££. I certainly can't afford it at the moment. Any input would be greatly received, last night's sleep was restless to say the least.

Okay great thanks for the info. I've been wondering how I can look at the history of lawsuits for a particular company - but I'm unable to figure out how that works. Is it possible to see a history of CJCH or Solidworks cases? Does anyone know of any that have gone through? I assume in rare cases they may go after the larger cases.

Firstly - thank you for the quick response and taking the time to do so. Calmed the nerves slightly... however I've spoken to the reseller again today - had to check if he was still coming for our planned meeting - he wasn't. However he also let slip a few things as I questioned him pretty hard on what this is all about. 1. He said Dassault won't care if I used the software or not - and have stated their attitude can be summarised using the following metaphor (one which Dassault staff use themselves) If someone steals a porsche it doesn't matter if they get 10 feet out of the showroom or drive it 100 miles. its still theft. To my mind this is massively flawed. First of all - I bought a machine upon which solidworks can be run. I didn't purchase solidworks itself. and then deleted said software from the machine. There WAS a very small crossover period where a license was running on the machine however I was under the impression it was Legit. Secondly - if you BUY a Porsche in good faith and it turns out to be stolen - fair enough you can't keep the porsche but the police can't come after you. You'd lose it and potentially have to buy another one. 2. The reseller stated specifically that the solicitors / Dassault will NOT release any information relating to the data they have collected to me unless it goes to court. This seems dodgy as hell to me. 3. The reseller has now said that the correspondence from Dassault I should have received came in the form of an email which (incredibly) was apparently sent on the same day I applied for the entrepreneurship programme. 4. He is apparently passing my details to the person at Dassault in charge of compliance and they are going to get in touch with me today. This morning I have now also received a supposedly "resent" email from CHCJ solicitors very similar to the ones others have received - however notably it doesn't contain any details about the supposed infractions whatsoever!! Please find it copied below: By email only 10/04/2019 Re: SOLIDWORKS® and certain other software licenced by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation (including the SOLIDWORKS® Simulation line of analysis products, SOLIDWORKS® Composer, and the SOLIDWORKS® line of product data management products in all countries) ("the Software") Dear Sir, We act for Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation of 175 Wyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 USA ("our client"). Our client is the owner of copyrights in the Software, a copy of which is available for inspection at our client’s offices. The Software is original and the related intellectual property rights vest absolutely with our client. Our client has discovered that your company has been using SOLIDWORKS, without the necessary licenses, that is to say your usage has occurred without the consent of our client or any of its authorised resellers. According to the applicable national legislation, this is an infringement of our client’s copyrights in the Software. As a result of infringement of its copyright, our client is entitled to, inter alia, the following remedies: an inquiry as to damages for infringement of copyright including an inquiry as to additional damages pursuant to s97(2) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and damages pursuant to the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 and Directive 2004/48/EC or, at our client’s option an account of profits; Publication of any Judgment obtained; and Costs. If you are in any doubt as to your legal rights or if you have any queries or concerns, then we suggest you seek independent legal advice. We look forward to hearing from you before 12/04/2019.

Hi All, hopefully you can advise me on a sticky spot I’ve just landed in. I’ve had what I believe to be a perfectly genuine threat-o-gram from a firm of solicitors representing Dessault Systems, makers of the Solidworks CAD package. They’ve correctly identified that I’ve used their software without a licence, but erroneously connected it with my very small business operation for which I own a domain and sell a few bits and pieces online. I manage my website, email etc on the same PC that on which I have Solidworks installed. The two uses are wholly independent. I’ve seen the template letter on the CAB website and will be sending off a request for them to comply with Pre-action protocol and prove when I used it. They probably can (whether they do or not remains to be seen). What they most definitely can’t do is connect it to my small business, other than via my ISP. They’ve put 2 and 2 together and come up with 5. I would like to add something to this effect in my response - asking them to prove I used it for my business and pointing out that they will find this impossible. What do you think? Thanks in advance

no cases of court anywhere. as far as we understand these ambulance chaser firms, they sadly con the 'owners' out of signing a longterm contract to engage them that also has a get out clause that is more expensive than continuing to use their services. they also make a tidy sum out of any money they collect, p'haps fwding on less than 30% they 'collect', it also has the effect of occasionally winning solidworks a licence sign up to, that the fleecers get a cut of. as you have freelancers and homeworkers, it will be undoubtedly be one of those, regardless to running the software or not, upon installation it installs a call home to mommy TSR that runs on any device at start up. harvests the info it needs, then sends it off to solidworks. it also has access to the properties of any files created on the software too. your IT guy will be well vested in how to look for these things and i bet you find in their startup services a prog linked to the software. simple to kill it.

Hi there! Same sheet for me Here is my tips for avoiding any frustration with your illegal uses of Solidworks: - don't add your company name in folder or Solidworks filename (this is how they find u) - don't show your real company address on your website (this is how they fork u) - use a firewall software (like Glasswire) on each computer and block any process coming from Solidworks (they are a lot of different program name) - this software spreads your datas to a lot of IP addresses in the world c:\program files\solidworks corp\solidworks\sldworks.exe c:\program files (x86)\common files\solidworks installation manager\backgrounddownloading\sldbgdwld.exe (processes dependings software version) - using a firewall software will slow down your Solidworks. This is not firewall fault, this is Solidworks behavior as it will try to connect to a lot of different locations... I recommend to jump to other competitors software like Autodesk Inventor (more cheaper btw) Now my story: - Got CJCH email warming me about illegal licencing activity - I answered them i've got an US legal version, they forwarded me to mediator in Spain - He told me i screwed up to buy my legal licence in US even if my main business is registered in NV as i use this current licencing version on my laptop in my commercial french address - He wants to get in touch with me by phone but i prefer to keep all exchanges by transcript - He reported me 2 Mac addresses : one is installed on my laptop, the second one, i don't know what is this computer, i've checked all and i can't figure out where it is... My questions: - Do you guys (stunned_monkey, sparty0_0 and others) have received a letter to pick up to post office from solicitor? Did they collect it? - Did someone pay something to Dassault? Thanks

Also just got one in the US. The letter. We represent Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation (“DSSW”) located in Waltham, Massachusetts. As you may know, DSSW provides world-leading 3D design software and solutions to more than 150,000 customers in a wide range of industries around the globe. DSSW is the publisher and owner of all right, title and interest in and to its proprietary suite of software known as SOLIDWORKS (the “Software”). DSSW owns the copyright in the United States and elsewhere for this Software. Our client has informed us that “insert company” has been using the Software without valid licenses in complete disregard of DSSW’s valuable intellectual property rights and in violation of the end user license agreement (“EULA”) governing “insert company”’s use of DSSW’s products, and specifically the Software. By engaging the sophisticated monitoring technology described in the EULA, DSSW has irrefutable evidence that “insert company” has accessed SOLIDWORKS Premium, the add-ons and other versions of the Software identified on Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof. “insert company”’s continued use of the Software without valid licenses constitutes infringement of DSSW’s rights under the United States Copyright Act and will likely subject “insert company” to liability for statutory damages. Specifically, U.S. copyright law provides for civil as well as criminal penalties for infringement. Even absent proof of any actual damages, a copyright owner such as DSSW is entitled to statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 for each work that is willfully infringed. See 17 U.S.C. Section 504©. Each copy of the Software is a separate work under the Copyright Act, and DSSW has consistently registered its copyrights for years. In light of the foregoing, we demand that “insert company” immediately cease and desist its infringing activities. DSSW is willing to settle this matter amicably upon “insert company”’s prompt purchase of the appropriate licenses and 12 months of subscriptions for SOLIDWORKS Premium and any other SOLIDWORKS add-on products indicated on Exhibit A. A DSSW Compliance Mediator will be contacting you to resolve this matter. Any purchase of licenses to regularize your unauthorized and infringing use of the Software other than through and under the direction of the SolidWorks Compliance Mediator shall be null and void. This letter does not constitute a complete or exhaustive statement of our client’s rights, claims, contentions, or legal theories. Nothing stated herein is intended as, nor should it be deemed to constitute, a waiver or relinquishment of any of DSSW’s rights or remedies, whether legal or equitable, all of which are hereby expressly reserved.