A subsidiary of U.S. computer maker Atari...

A subsidiary of U.S. computer maker Atari Corp. has been indicted in Taiwan on charges of using pirated copies of software programs.

A criminal indictment for copyright infringement was handed down against Atari Taiwan Manufacturing Corp. and two employees this month, according to the Business Software Alliance, a coalition of U.S. software companies.

A court-ordered search of the company in April turned up what prosecutors allege were unauthorized copies of Ashton Tate’s dBase III Plus software and Lotus Development Corp.’s Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program.

Atari said the programs were used by the two employees against company policy. Since the case involved only about a dozen allegedly pirated copies, the company accused the Business Software Alliance of blowing it out of proportion.

“We fight this kind of (piracy) all the time,” said August Liguori, vice president of finance. “It would be foolish for us to cheat our own peers over a few hundred dollars.”

The case is part of a high-profile campaign by the alliance to crack down on those who illegally copy programs for their own use or for sale. Software piracy, which is particularly bad overseas, costs developers $16 billion a year in lost revenue, according to the alliance.