BSA Raises the Stakes in Fight against Software Piracy
Software Group to Reward Individuals Up To $1 Million for Qualified
Reports of Copyright Infringement
Washington, DC (July 2, 2007) - The Business Software Alliance (BSA),
the global organization representing the nation's leading software
manufacturers, today announced that it will intensify efforts to battle
software piracy in the workplace by increasing its current rewards
incentive from $200,000 to
$1 million from July to October 2007.
This unprecedented increase by the BSA highlights the software
organization's commitment to fighting software piracy in U.S.
businesses. According to an independent study conducted by the
International Data Corps. (IDC), the information technology (IT)
industry's leading global market research and forecasting firm, the U.S.
suffered $7.3 billion in losses in 2006 resulting from software piracy.
The BSA Rewards program was launched in the U.S. in the fall of 2005.
The program encourages individuals with detailed information about
software piracy to come forward and confidentially submit the
infringement(s). Since the 2005 launch of the Rewards program, BSA has
successfully settled with hundreds of companies, bringing in nearly $22
million as a result.
Concurrent with the Rewards announcement, BSA is launching "Blow the
Whistle," a national advertising campaign that encourages employees to
report software piracy. "Blow the Whistle" will commence in July with
national radio and online advertisements. Throughout the year, BSA will
target efforts in states including California, Texas, Illinois, New
York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia and Arizona.
"Reporting software piracy is the right thing to do and BSA is pleased
to reward individuals who come forward with credible information," said
Jenny Blank, Director of Enforcement for BSA. "BSA will diligently
continue fighting software piracy and we hope the Rewards incentive goes
a long way in helping us," continued Blank. "Businesses often have a
million excuses for having unlicensed software on office computers. BSA
is now offering up to a million dollars for employees who turn them in."
Individuals can learn more about the BSA Rewards program or submit a
confidential report by visiting http://www.bsa.org or
calling 1-888 NO PIRACY. Reward payments are subject to eligibility
requirements, the details of which are available on the BSA Web site.
Businesses trying to determine whether their organization is using
unlicensed software can download the free software audit tools at
http://www.bsaaudit.com .
A "Million" Excuses
Businesses often fail to recognize the importance of software management
and hence find themselves exposed to financial, security and liability
risks. A "million" excuses will not protect a company if caught with
unlicensed software. Examples include:
* Current or former employee installed the software without
permission; was tasked with attending to compliance but did not, or
copies were installed by the terminated employee;
* Business grew too quickly, the company could not focus on
licensing;
* Software copies were installed on office computers but were
not in actual use;
* Business is in negotiation for licenses but does not currently
have them in place;
* Poor management by the IT department; and
* Outside IT company failed to manage licensing.
A "Million" Reasons for Compliance
Sound software management just makes good business sense. While BSA
believes most businesses are ethical, not all understand that good
corporate governance means a good system of checks and balances
throughout the organization to ensure ethical and legal operations.
Employing a software asset management (SAM) program has far reaching
benefits for a business including:
* Offers significant cost savings, not only in direct
expenditure on software, but also in related process and infrastructure
costs;
* Provides companies in a stronger negotiating position with
software manufacturers and improves software purchasing arrangements;
* Enables more strategic infrastructure planning;
* Prevents over-licensing and identifies over-deployment of
hardware while reducing the IT administrative and support burden with
its associated costs; and
* Allows the IT department to control exactly what software an
employee has access to and significantly reduces the opportunity for
users to introduce unlicensed software to your network.
Software piracy is against the law and affects thousands of businesses
nationwide, costing millions of dollars in tax revenues and lost jobs.
It can result in fines of up to $150,000 for each software title copied
and increases the risk for security and technical complications. An
independent study* shows that 21 percent of software in the United
States is unlicensed.
* "Global Software Piracy Study," conducted by IDC for the Business
Software Alliance, May 2006
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost
organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA
is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its
hardware partners before governments and in the international
marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing
industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation
through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright
protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include
Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, CNC
Software/Mastercam, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, SolidWorks, Sybase,
Symantec, The MathWorks and UGS.
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