VMware Sues Siemens Over Alleged Unauthorized Software Use

VMware has initiated legal proceedings against the U.S. division of Siemens, alleging the unauthorized use of software. The plaintiff claims that Siemens has utilized more VMware software than it was licensed to use.

In September of the previous year, Siemens provided a list of VMware software it used and requested VMware to fulfill an order for services related to the maintenance and support of the listed software. The total amount of software cited exceeded what Siemens had actually acquired, according to the lawsuit.

VMware alerted Siemens about the presence of unlicensed software on the list, but Siemens maintained that the list was accurate and threatened to take legal action if VMware refused to support the listed digital products. Siemens believed it had grounds for a lawsuit due to an option for extending support services for an additional year. VMware agreed to provide support for 30 days to avoid disrupting Siemens’ operations.

According to VMware, Siemens attempted to retract the original list and submit a new one that better aligned with VMware’s records of Siemens’ licenses. The plaintiff contends that Siemens failed to provide a valid explanation for its insistence on the correctness of the September list. Furthermore, Siemens denied VMware the opportunity to conduct a software audit.

With no way to ascertain the true extent of VMware assets’ usage within Siemens and concerned about the potential use of unlicensed software, the plaintiff felt compelled to proceed with legal action. VMware is seeking a jury trial.

Starting in April 2025, VMware will operate a unified site for product downloads. Customers will need to purchase unique «download tokens» to access the software code. This change could help Broadcom’s subsidiary verify whether Siemens is complying with licensing requirements.