Adobe sues fashion retailer Forever 21 for allegedly pirating Photoshop

Software giant Adobe is suing high street fashion retailer Forever 21 for its alleged use of pirated copies of the famous photo editing software Photoshop.

In a lawsuit filed jointly by Adobe, Autodesk and Corel in California, the plaintiffs alleged the retail chain continued to use pirated copies of Photoshop "even after being contacted by Adobe regarding the infringement".

"Widespread use of illegal copies of Plaintiffs' software products has caused, and continues to cause, significant harm to Plaintiffs and undermines Plaintiffs' investments in their products," the filing says.

The companies, which accused Forever 21 of "wilful, intentional and malicious copyright infringement", want the court to issue an injunction and award a cash sum for lost revenue, court costs and additional damages

The plaintiffs did not specify how much amount it requires in damages, and said several hearings would be required to find out its actual revenue loss due to the alleged licence breaches.

In the filing, they specified the registration numbers of the software products under question along with dates on which they were used.

The lawsuit also alleges the retailer used pirated copies of 3D design software Autodesk and zip utility tool WinZip and another photo editor PaintShopPro.

After Adobe moved its products into the cloud in 2013 to prevent illegal use of its software products, many users started pirating its software. In response, Adobe told employees to turn in companies that use illegally acquired versions, according to media reports.