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…
Software publishers, acting alone, or through a proxy such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) or Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), regularly audit customers or potential customers to ensure license compliance and deter against copyright infringement. For mid-sized or larger companies that employ an in-house or external IT resource to manage software purchases and…
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) regularly targets small-to-medium sized businesses for expensive software audits to determine whether those businesses are in compliance with their BSA-member software licenses. In furtherance of that effort, the BSA offers cash rewards to disgruntled current or former employees who provide information about allegedly unlicensed software installed on their employers’ computers….
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) hunts down and audits companies when it receives information that those companies may have software products that are not properly licensed. If a company audited by the BSA is found to have more installations of software products than is reflected in its licensing documentation, it is generally more cost effective…
Businesses targeted for software audits by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) often learn that the BSA typically extends the scope of its audit requests to more than just software products and often requests information regarding client access to server products. Before disclosing this information to the BSA, it is important for a targeted business to…
Businesses that receive software audit demand letters from auditing entities such as the BSA or SIIA, or from software companies like Autodesk or Microsoft, often contend they cleaned up their network after receipt of the letter and should be released from any further obligation to conduct an audit or communicate with the auditor. Audited business…
