BEWARE OF PIRATES: Software Piracy is Easier and More Expensive Than You Think!
Time for a pop quiz. Do you know: How many PC's and laptop computers your company owns? How many and what types of software are used at your company? How many software licenses your company owns for the software it uses? How's your score? If it's not one hundred percent, your company might be at risk for software piracy. Software piracy is the unauthorized use, installation or duplication of copyrighted software.
Software piracy is almost always unintentional. New software is purchased without review of the software license, and before you know it the software is installed on five or ten additional computers without any thought of a license violation. What's the harm? A recent study by Nathan Associates in Arlington, Virginia estimated that unauthorized use of copyrighted software costs the U.S. economy a loss of 130,000 jobs, $5.3 billion in wages and $1 billion in tax revenues every year. There is also a more tangible cost to your company - federal copyright law provides for penalties for copyright infringement of up to $150,000 per copyright for a willful act. Even innocent infringement carries significant penalties.
The advertising and graphics industries rely heavily on the latest technology in software to stay on the "cutting edge" of their craft, and are therefore especially vulnerable to this issue. However, there are several steps you can take to minimize your risks for software piracy:
- - Review all licenses for all new software to make sure you understand their terms;
- - Appoint a software asset manager to track all software licenses and monitor all duplication and installation of software at the company;
- - Educate all your employees about the hazards of software piracy, and adopt a zero-tolerance policy for any unauthorized copying of software;
- - Make sure your vendors are providing you with legitimate software. Ask them about it, and request Certificates of Authenticity when you buy a product; and
- - Conduct yearly audits of the company's computers, and spot check throughout the year for unlicensed software.
For more information, visit the website of the Business Software Alliance at www.bsa.org, or the Microsoft site for a licensing and software management guide at www.microsoft.com/piracy/samguide.
© Sharon L. Toerek 2000-2008
This article was originally published in Portfolio Magazine, the Journal of the Cleveland Advertising Association
