Software Piracy Police Target Chicago Businesses Despite Recession

Dallas, TX, March 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a global software industry group including Adobe, Microsoft, Autodesk and Symantec, recently announced it is increasing its enforcement efforts in the Chicago area according to TNS Media’s AdScope report.

In a January 15, 2009 news release, the BSA stated, ”While the BSA receives a steady stream of software piracy tips year in and year out, the group anticipates there may be an increase in 2009 due to the economic downturn.”

The BSA has been aggressively marketing financial incentives to disgruntled employees to make anonymous tips against their employers with reward payments up to $1 Million in cash in their “Know it, Report it, Reward it” program. In many instances, the informant is the same person responsible for software compliance at the company they are reporting.

“While we understand the Business Software Alliance’s desire to protect the intellectual property rights of its software publisher members, the firm believes it’s important to inform businesses about some of the questionable enforcement methods the organization uses and offer recommendations for reducing the risks of external software audits from the Business Software Alliance, the Software Information and Industry Association or software publishers,” according to Robert Scott, Managing Partner of Scott & Scott, LLP.

The BSA has done nothing to simplify or standardize the license agreements of its member companies, which are all unique, lengthy and complex. This leaves the onus of compliance entirely on software customers – the very customers that the software publishers actively pursued to generate revenue.

How Chicago companies can protect themselves:

Scott & Scott recommend companies implement the following procedures into their business practices:

- Create Standardized Agreements With Publishers: Many companies do not realize that they have leverage when negotiating license agreements with publishers. In fact, companies can develop favorable software license agreements with the assistance of their own legal counsel. Favorable provisions can include “no audit” clauses or voluntary “true-ups” to reduce the costs of compliance management and the total costs of ownership.

- Retain Proofs of Purchase and Keep Accurate Records: Contrary to popular belief, trade associations and publishers only accept dated proofs of purchase, with an entity name matching that of the audited company. Anything less will fall short of publishers’ mandated proof of ownership and therefore, repurchase of the assets in question may become necessary.

- Choose Integrated, IT Asset Management Tools: Asset management should be built into every company’s ongoing business processes to ensure that this process and license compliance become core competencies. The ability to conduct routine reconciliations is required to ensure software license and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

- Obtain Expert Assistance in the Event of An Audit: Audit defense is most effective with the representation of specialized legal counsel to avoid the common mistakes that may jeopardize a company’s legal position. Any automated discovery that is conducted under the supervision of legal counsel will be protected by attorney-client and work-product privileges, should an out-of-court resolution not be possible.

For additional free resources: www.bsadefense.com/resources.asp. Hundreds of companies have found Scott & Scott’s Fine Calculator to be a helpful risk assessment tool.

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About Us: Scott & Scott, LLP (www.scottandscottllp.com and www.bsadefense.com) is one of the only U.S. law firms with a practice group dedicated to BSA and SIIA Defense. The firm is dedicated to helping senior executives assess and reduce the legal, financial, and regulatory risks associated with software compliance. Scott & Scott’s legal and technology professionals provide software audit defense and software compliance solutions and have years of experience successfully defending software defense cases.