Business ProfileforBusiness Software Alliance

According to information provided by the organization, BSA is a non profit trade group of software producers which acts to promote the software industry worldwide through enforcement of copyright laws, education about software licensing, and support of public policy programs. BSA states it initiates audits, conducts raids, and takes legal action against suspected software pirates. Businesses throughout the country report receiving mailings from BSA offering a truce period on obtaining proper software licensing. BSA sends mass mailings to businesses located in the various targeted zip codes. Receipt of these notices does not mean that the recipient has been identified as being in violation of licensing regulations. The letters indicate that action against copyright infringement may occur after the truce period. BSA states that it seeks payment to obtain proper licensing and that it cooperates with law enforcement agencies to obtain fines from violators. Company literature indicates that BSA will make use of tips from disgruntled employees to obtain initial information that is checked with BSA's member software producers to see if the company has registered its software. If a problem appears to exist, an audit, which can be done by the firm itself, is conducted. Settlement to obtain the proper licensing and any fine amount is usually negotiated; though the possibility of legal action can exist. Those who receive such letter notifications question the lack of complete information and the implication of wrongdoing contained in the correspondence. Some question whether their contacts to BSA to verify information would lead to unauthorized access to their own computer files, particularly for small firms with limited computer firewall protection. Companies receiving such mailings should review their sorfware licenesing. Verification of licensing and corrections of licensing problems can be obtained by contacting your software vendor. BBB General Information - Software Piracy Software Piracy is any unauthorized use of computer software. It includes: *Softloading - the purchase of a single user software license that is subsequently loaded onto multiple computers or servers; *Counterfeiting - the making, distributing and/or selling of software copies that are faked to look like they come from an authorized source; *Renting - the rental of software to consumers without the permission of the copyright holder; *Unbundling - the distibuting and/or selling of software that has been 'unbundled' or 'separated' from the products with which it was intended to have been sold or 'bundled.' *Internet downloading - the downloading of copyrighted software from the Internet or bulletin boards without permission from the software copyright owner. Software is automatically protected by federal copyright from the moment it is created. The rights granted to the owner of a copyright are stated in the Copyright Act, Title 17 of the US Code. The owner of the copyright is given exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copies of the copyrighted work. Consumers who buy a license for a copy of software have the right to load it onto a single computer or to make another copy for archival purposes only. It is illegal to load the software onto more than one computer or to make copies of that software for any other purpose unless specific permission has been obtained from the copyright owner. To learn more about Software Piracy, contact the Council of Better Business Bureaus (www.bbb.org) the Software Publishers Association (www.spa.org/piracy), or the US Copyright Office (www.lcweb.loc.gov/copyright).