Sony BMG is being sued by a small French software maker after allegedly using large amounts of pirated software.

French developer PointDev claims that a Sony BMG employee called the firm to ask for technical support for an application called Ideal Migration.

The Sony BMG employee provided a key code to the software which PointDev claims is pirated. PointDev further alleges that the software had been used illegally since 2004.

"We are not interested in an amicable settlement. It is not just a question of money but more importantly the principle," Paul-Henry Agustoni, chief executive at PointDev, told French website 01net.

"We are forced to watch every week to see if key software pirates are on the internet. We are a small company of six employees. Instead of trying to protect ourselves, we could spend this time to develop ourselves."

The case will be a huge embarrassment to Sony BMG, which has sponsored thousands of legal cases against those who copy its music.

The music firm has been particularly active in this area, even introducing anti-copying rootkit technology into its CDs that put its users at risk from hackers.

Thomas Hesse, former president of Sony's Global Digital Business, said at the time: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

Sony was sued over the fiasco and was forced to pay compensation to customers.