Software Piracy

by BOL Guru Mary Beth Guard

Do you have licenses for every copy of every piece of software currently being used in your institution? You'd better. Software piracy is of increasing concern. April 29, 2002, a printing company located in Hartland, WI, paid the Business Software Alliance a settlement $150,000 after a self-audit revealed more copies of Adobe, Autodesk, Macromedia, Microsoft and Symantec software programs on its computers than it had licenses to support. In addition to the payment, the company agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software and strengthen its software management practices.In addition to the settlement payment the firm agreed to remove all of its unlicensed software, purchase replacement software and strengthen its software management practices.

In commenting on the latest settlement of a software piracy violation, Bob Kruger, vice-president of enforcement for the BSA said, ?The settlement with Commercial Communication, Inc. demonstrates why every organization needs to pay close attention to their software management practices,? said Bob Kruger, vice president of enforcement for the BSA. ?We encourage businesses to utilize the resources provided by BSA to assist them in establishing a sound software management program. Companies can then avoid paying stiff penalties to BSA.?

As millions of dollars are lost to software developers and manufacturers through the unauthorized duplication of software programs, the efforts to identify and prosecute software pirates have taken on greater urgency. Each bank should have a policy of requiring all copies of software installed on its network or on individual hard drives to be licensed copies. The policy should similarly forbid employees from copying bank software for personal use or from installing nonbank software on their bank-owned machines.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is offering a "Software Grace Period" during May, 2002. During the Grace Period, BSA is giving area businesses a one-month opportunity to review their software programs and acquire the licenses they need to get legal without facing penalties for past infringement. Between May 1-31, BSA will "reach out" to more than 300,000 business contacts simultaneously in Grand Rapids, MI; Tulsa, OK; Salt Lake City, UT; and Milwaukee, WI. Get details about the Grace Period.

SPA Anti-Piracy, a Division of SIIA
Business Software Alliance
Anti-piracy Quiz

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