Hot software hotline - Business Software Alliance - Company Business and Marketing - Brief Article

Software Magazine, Dec, 1997 by Amy Sauer

If your organization is using unlicensed software but never had a disgruntled employee, then maybe you don't have to worry about this: The Business Software Alliance, Washington, D.C., operates a hotline (1-888-NO-PIRACY) used to generate leads on pirated software use. Last year, phone tips led to 500 investigations resulting in more than $7.2 million in settlements.

Recently, a Texas firm paid the BSA $400,000 for copyright infringement of Microsoft, Lotus and Symantec software. Under the settlement, Marketing Management Inc. will delete all unlicensed software and purchase replacement copies.

"It costs companies three to four times what the original cost of the software was," says Bob Kruger, a former federal prosecutor leading enforcement at the BSA. "And companies are learning the hard way." And it's not just large corporations. "We've investigated Fortune 500 companies as well as mom-and-pop operations, schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations, and government agencies," says Kruger.

Case in point: In July, the City of Philadelphia paid a six-figure settlement on behalf of two municipal agencies using hundreds of illegal copies of a dozen programs.

The BSA estimates that piracy costs the software industry more than $11.2 billion each year, with one in four programs pirated. "We rely on the kindness of strangers," says Kruger, adding that anonymity is always honored. Anybody feeling disgruntled?