VMware Files Lawsuit Against Siemens Over Alleged License Violations

VMware has initiated legal proceedings against Siemens and its subsidiaries in the United States, alleging the unauthorized use of approximately 1,400 instances of its software without valid licenses. The lawsuit has been filed in the District Court of Delaware.

The core of the dispute revolves around a licensing agreement that was in place between Siemens and VMware, which concluded in September 2024. Although the agreement offered Siemens an option for an additional year of support, VMware contends that Siemens exceeded the number of instances covered by the original license during this extended support period.

According to VMware, the largest discrepancy arises from the vRealize Suite Advanced, which reportedly accounts for around 1,000 instances that lack proper licensing. In total, 15 applications are said to be affected by this issue. VMware accuses Siemens of not only using more instances than permitted but also of refusing an independent audit to verify the actual usage of VMware software on its systems.

Despite VMware's attempts to address the discrepancies, Siemens maintained that its usage figures were accurate and even threatened legal action if VMware did not comply with the support extension for the disputed instances. VMware claims it temporarily agreed to provide additional support to avoid disrupting Siemens's operations but was perplexed by Siemens's subsequent submission of revised usage figures that were closer to VMware's own assessments.

Siemens has refrained from commenting on the ongoing legal matters, as reported by various media outlets. The legal action has garnered attention in the industry, raising questions about software licensing compliance and the implications for large enterprises relying on virtualization technologies.