Be aware of the latest marketing propaganda that the BSA and SIIA are displaying on social media sites. Learn more how to protect you and your organization from software violation audits.
Dreaming of warmer destinations? Although I'm not sure many South Floridians would agree to this statement after enduring one of our infamous summer seasons.
Lately, we have noticed there is a lot of propaganda targeting whistle-blowers to report on their (former) employers engaged in exploiting unlicensed software. Social media sites, billboards, press releases and blogs are several marketing channels that the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) or Business Software Alliance (BSA) lawyers have used in order to call light on those disgruntled employees and vendors to testify against business or former-employer for a substantial reward. Many of these violation audits are due to disgruntled ex-employees retaliating against their former employers to seek financial retribution.
The BSA and SIIA maintain hotlines for anonymous leads and complaints against a company. These complaints and possible violation audits can cause injury to a company's business and reputation. Once a report is received a company can expect the BSA or SIIA to conduct a self-audit or file suit acting through legal representation.
Always identify legitimate software form authorized vendors to avoid copyright infringement claims against illegitimate software licensing. We encourage companies to retain proof of purchase documents including the packing slips and invoices received when licenses were purchased. Create a workflow process internally to monitor which tools are software are requested and installed for each user. Furthermore, have an established process for lifecycle maintenance of software and hardware systems.
Let's be honest, no one has the time - nor patience - to meticulously read through each and every word of their software end user license agreement. They're full of confusing legal verbiage that most lawyers wouldn't sit down to read before installing. That said, we want to ensure that you are aware and fully informed to avoid the risk of an audit. As always, R2 is here to help in case you are concerned about your current licensing.