202109.21
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BSA Informants: Disgruntled Employees

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How to Protect Your Company Against Copyright Infringement Claims by Disgruntled Employees Seeking a Reward In an effort to enforce the copyrights of its members, Business | The Software Alliance (“BSA”) offers the potential for monetary rewards to any informant that shares information related to software copyright infringement against a company.  Many of our clients…

202106.24
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When to Buy vs. Uninstall Software in BSA | The Software Alliance Audits

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One of the most common mistakes I encounter in BSA audits is what I call the post-effective date software buying spree. The buying spree occurs in response to a letter from the BSA’s attorney’s requesting a self audit. Many clients are discouraged to learn that software purchases made after the date of the BSA’s initial…

202103.04
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Obtaining Payment Terms for BSA Settlements

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Negotiating a settlement with the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) to resolve a copyright infringement dispute over allegedly unlicensed software can be arduous and costly. The BSA typically demands a penalty based on some multiple of the MSRP of each product alleged to have been infringed, in addition to the BSA’s attorney’s fees and, usually, a…

202102.08
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11 Secrets to Defending BSA | The Software Alliance Audits

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Don’t be in the dark on how to prepare and respond to software audits. An increasing number of companies face software audits initiated by software publishers and their trade associations, such as BSA | The Software Alliance and the Software & Information Industry Association. Most companies are totally unprepared; many underestimate their exposure and are…

202011.12
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Tracking Down Proofs of Purchase for Software Licenses

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When a company receives a letter from BSA | The Software Alliance questioning the authenticity of software licensing status and demanding an in-house audit, it is very important to have proofs of purchase for the licenses in question. Absent sufficient proof of purchase, the BSA will assume that the associated software installations are unlicensed and…

202011.03
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Five Secrets to Understanding the Business Software Alliance’s Audit Procedures

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BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”) is an organization that investigates copyright infringement claims on behalf of software publishers such as Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, CNC, and Parametric Technology Corporation. The process for software audits can be tricky, time consuming, and confusing. The BSA has a very specific process that audit targets are expected to follow. Following…

202004.03
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Understanding Software License Agreements to Avoid BSA or SIIA Software Audits

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Recent trends indicate that software publishers are increasingly initiating direct software audits instead of outsourcing the auditing process to entities such as the BSA | The Software Alliance (“BSA”) or Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”). However, the BSA and SIIA continue to actively target companies of all sizes to determine whether the company is…

201910.01
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What is the BSA, Software Alliance’s Definition of Software Piracy?

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“Software piracy” is a favorite catch-phrase used by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the software companies it represents.  Most people understand software piracy to involve the intentional copying and, in many cases, distribution of copyrighted software to third parties without permission of the copyright owner.  Understandably, the term has extremely negative connotations, and most businesses will…

201909.25
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Responding to an Audit from the BSA Software Alliance

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If your company has received a letter from the BSA | The Software Alliance requesting a software audit, you are probably wondering whether you should cooperate or ignore the request. I have been handling BSA cases for almost a decade and advise my clients to cooperate but to do so in a manner that will…

201905.17
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Unpleasant Surprises in BSA Software Audits

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Another way in which publishers or auditing entities raise the amount in controversy in software audits is the attempt to assess separate “fines” for each allegedly infringing installation of a software product. Thus, a company reporting just ten undocumented installations of Office Professional 2007, with no other licensing shortfalls, may receive a settlement offer based…