Three waves of police raids. Twenty-eight computers, servers and hard drives seized. Twenty-six people, from company owners to the engineers at the keyboard, referred to prosecutors. And an infringement value the software publishers put at NT$800 million (about US$25 million).
That is the outcome of three ITCA license-compliance cases in Taiwan: two for Materialise and one for Trimble. Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced it on 21 October 2026, and within a day the story ran in 31 national news reports, from the Central News Agency to the evening TV news.
At a glance
- The cases: three ITCA cases, handled for Materialise (two cases) and Trimble (one case)
- The evidence: more than 1,000 unlicensed uses recorded in the publishers’ license records
- The raids: three waves between July and September 2026, under court search warrants
- Seized: 17 desktop PCs, 4 laptops, 1 network storage server and 6 hard drives
- Referred to prosecutors: 26 people: 3 company principals and 23 employees
- Estimated infringement value: about NT$800 million (about US$25 million)
- Press coverage: 31 reports in print, broadcast and online media
From license records to search warrants
According to the CIB, the complaints from Materialise and Trimble were backed by their digital rights management (DRM) records, which logged more than 1,000 unlicensed uses.
The CIB’s Intellectual Property Rights Investigation Brigade took up the complaints and set up a task force. Under the direction of the Shilin District Prosecutors Office, it obtained court search warrants and searched company sites in Neihu (Taipei) and in Tucheng and Yingge (New Taipei) in three waves between July and September 2026. The suspects were later referred to the Shilin and New Taipei District Prosecutors Offices.
According to the CIB, staff had downloaded the software from overseas websites, installed crack files to defeat the copy protection, and used it in their daily work.
A license worth a luxury car
The software at the center of the case is Materialise Magics and 3-matic, used for 3D printing and design, and Trimble‘s Tekla Structures, used for structural engineering. The press reported these list prices:
- Materialise 3-matic: about NT$4.5 million per license
- Materialise Magics: about NT$2.4 million per license
- Trimble Tekla Structures: about NT$1.1 million per license
Several Taiwanese outlets ran the comparison in their headlines: one license costs as much as a Mercedes or a BMW. Multiply that by every unlicensed installation and the total reaches NT$800 million.
One license costs as much as a Mercedes or a BMW.Headline comparison in Taiwan’s national press
Not just the boss
Of the 26 people referred to prosecutors, 23 are employees. Only three are company principals. Using unlicensed software at work is not only a risk for the owner: the people who install and use it can be held personally responsible.
All 26 were referred for three offenses under Taiwan’s Copyright Act:
- circumventing technological protection measures (defeating copy protection)
- business use of infringing copies of computer programs
- infringement by reproduction without the right holder’s permission
The cases are now with the prosecutors, who decide whether to indict. A referral is not a conviction.
What the police said
The CIB used the case to send a message to every business in Taiwan: the professional software you rely on must be licensed. Companies that use unlicensed software, it warned, face criminal liability as well as civil damages claims, with serious harm to their reputation.
ITCA’s role
These are ITCA cases. ITCA manages license compliance for Materialise and Trimble and handled all three cases for them in Taiwan. With the cases now at the prosecutors, ITCA continues to support both clients.
“Since partnering with ITCA we have seen improvement in the numbers of legal users and this growth should continue.”
André Corniere · Steel Segment Director, Tekla (now Trimble)
In the national press
The CIB’s announcement was picked up by 31 print, broadcast and online outlets on 21 October 2026. A selection (all articles in Chinese):
- Central News Agency: Companies used 3D printing and construction software without licenses, infringement over NT$800 million; 26 referred
- United Daily News: Three northern companies allegedly used high-end 3D modelling software without licenses; 26 referred
- Liberty Times: One license worth a Mercedes or BMW: three Taiwan companies used high-end European 3D and construction software without licenses
- China Times: Three companies allegedly used foreign high-end 3D printing and architectural design software without licenses
- SET News: Companies used 3D printing and construction software without licenses, infringement over NT$800 million
- Mirror Weekly: NT$4.5 million per license: three Taiwan companies used high-end European 3D and construction software without licenses
- Nextapple: High-end 3D printing and building-model software used without licenses; three companies, over NT$800 million
- Police Broadcasting Service: CIB finds companies using high-end 3D printing and architectural design software without licenses
The lesson for businesses
Software publishers know where their software is running without a license, and not every case starts with a letter. When the evidence is strong, a case can go straight to the police and the courts.
The safest course is to license the software you use. A license costs a fraction of what a raid, a criminal referral and a damages claim cost.
Software publishers: if your software is used without a license in Taiwan or anywhere else, talk to ITCA. More outcomes are on our case law page.
Received a notice from ITCA? See how to verify and resolve it.
