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The BSA is funded voluntarily by software companies which grant the BSA the right to audit and sue on their behalf.

It is not clear if a group of disabled American's or advocacy groups for the disabled have similarly empowered Paul Hansmeier and John Steele.

The question I have is why does a company that has trust in it's customers need to be a member of anti-piracy groups like the Business Software Alliance [1]?

There are two things that has bothered me about people claiming Apple should be praised for allowing people to choose if they want to buy iWorks/iLife or just continue using the trial version:

(1) Steve Jobs had once claimed that with the upgrades of Mac OS X that "And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version."[2] He was referring to Windows providing some features only if you upgrade to the highest priced flavor of the OS. But the truth is that Mac OS X by itself doesn't have all of the features of Windows Ultimate. It didn't have it back in 2007 when Steve Jobs made the statement and still doesn't now. For everyone to get a Mac OS X that has feature for feature what Windows Ultimate provides, Apple should have just bundled iLife and iWorks with Mac OS X.

(2) The true cost of using iLife and iWorks is not the initial purchase price but rather the vendor lock-in. Once someone becomes used to using iLife/iWorks as part of their daily routine, it is somewhat jarring to switch to another application. There are other alternatives that do similar things but they are not the same. While Apple has a set of libraries to makes it possible to port their application to Windows (as they have done with iTunes), iLife/iWorks mostly is only available on Mac OS X. The iCloud flavor of some of the apps is very much beta and incomplete. So, the bottom line is once you become accustom to iLife/iWorks, regardless of how you got hold of the applications, you are much more likely to continue using Mac OS X since those applications lock you into OS X to continue to use them.

Worst of all, Apple has a history of distrusting their users to let them know what products which where marketed as having a "flawless design" clearly have serious design flaws (overheating, not being able to power on after a shorter than expected life, not able to make phone calls when held a common way, etc). To claim Apple trust of it's customers is a beautiful thing is just failing to look at the big picture when it comes to Apple.

[1] http://www.bsa.org/about-bsa/bsa-membership
[2] http://macdailynews.com/2007/10/16/apple_mac_os_x_leopard_leaps_october_26/

Intellectual Property? Like we give a shit. Here's one fine example from U.S. history.

http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/why-did-president-thomas-jefferson-smuggle-rice-out-of-italy

During their early years, the United States freely ignored existing European patents and copyrights as we saw fit. Developing our economy took precedence over some Old World kvetching about theft of ideas.

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it. - Margaret Fuller

To press China on theft of IP would require a truthful accounting of the cost. Look no further than the BSA for the depth of deception on the "cost of software piracy". There is no way China would accept valuation numbers like $200 per pirated copy of Windows 7.

It is my fervent wish that the BSA get just what they ask for -- the ability to absolutely prevent people from using their client's software without payment. Think of how many copies of Windows would be installed in China if it was *IMPOSSIBLE* to pirate. Think of a number close to zero.

There would be an utter explosion of growth in FOSS software. If Microsoft wanted to sell Windows and Office they'd have to lower the price to what the market would actually bear -- somewhere most likely around 10% of current prices.

Congress uses those inflated numbers every year to justify all sorts of bullshit. They value of bogus "IP" valuations far outweigh Chinese IP theft.

No suprise Monsanto is having relations with BSA, look who the members are...
http://www.bsa.org/country/bsa%20and%20members/our%20members.aspx

...And one of the members is having relations with Monsanto
http://naturalsociety.com/bill-gates-foundation-buys-500000-shares-of-monsanto/

..and if you were wondering what they do with all those seeds...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_f__willi_080123__22doomsday_seed_vault.htm

Microsoft is calling others out on inflated numbers? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. In 2009 people viewed BSA's $53 Billion Lost to Piracy claim with a healthy dose of skepticism. So which companies are in BSA? Oh look! Microsoft, Symantec and McAffee (among others).

Maybe McAfee, which TFA credits with the Trillion Dollar figure, is just applying what they've learned from their dealings with Microsoft and BSA.

(from http://portal.bsa.org/globalpiracy2011/)

"How often do you acquire pirated software or software that is not fully licensed - all of the time, most of the time, occasionally, rarely, or never?"

Results were:

• Always: 5%
• Mostly: 9%
• Occasionally: 17%
• Rarely: 26%
• Never: 38%
• Don't Know / Refuse: 5%

So that 57% number can be interpreted as people who have acquired "pirated" or "not fully licensed" software at some point - it makes no effort to differentiate how often that software is used.

Not to mention, I'm not sure how FLOSS software fits into the definition - considering who's asking, I wouldn't be surprised of "fully licensed" is explained as "you paid for it".

Either way, almost half of their "OMG" number is in the "rarely" category, which really cuts the legs off the argument.

http://www.bsa.org/country/BSA%20and%20Members/Our%20Members.aspx

http://www.bsa.org/country/Report%20Piracy.aspx

If you release a free spyware version pirates will still pirate the full version because it's far more convenient to have free software that also isn't spyware.

I think the traditional way to handle your problem is with accounting so that the majority of your "losses" are in sales lost to piracy instead of, say, an inability to pay your own vendors or your paychecks. Build up huge tax write-offs that you can defer to future years and never pay taxes again.

Are you sure you're at the optimal price on the supply-demand curve? Maybe $10k per copy is totally appropriate for your market, but it sounds high. Neither DRM nor any other action on your part is going to magically create $10k in the pockets of your potential customers and if they currently can't (or won't) afford your product then DRM or spyware isn't going to drastically alter their budget or their demand for your product (except perhaps reduce it). How are you determining your market size and which potential customers have bought, pirated, or simply don't use your software? Assume 75% to 90% of people are honest (even the BSA says US piracy rates are about 20%). If more than 10% to 25% of your installed software is pirated it means it's overpriced. If you can't make a living from the three quarters of your users who are honest then your product is unnecessary in the current market.

From the summary: Google and Apple, but Pixar, Lucasfilm, Adobe, Intel, and Intuit
Who are all (save Google) SOPA supporters.

Apple, Adobe, Intel, Intuit = BSA (The BSA has recently "modified" their position on SOPA but they were fervent supporters)
Pixar = Disney = MPAA
Lucasfilm, while not public supporters of SOPA (based on the wiki list) certainly wouldn't shed any tears if it passed (given their litigious history).

Google is the only one on that list which has been actively campaigning against SOPA.

You should talk to the BSA, they started all this shit. http://www.bsa.org/

BSA stands ready to work with Chairman Smith and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to resolve these issues.

Did you even read the link? They're still supporting it, although not in the current form, ONLY now that there is a large stink about it. Did they not read what they were endorsing before? How about withdrawing support entirely? Too many of these companies involved and simply playing lip service. It's like saying "We promise to do our best!" promises, especially from a corporation, are not legally binding. So how is this backing off support if they want to work on it?

I copied the text from their website :( http://portal.bsa.org/globalpiracy2010/methodology.html

https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/report/add.aspx?pr=1

(I'm joking, of course...)

I have no problem either, we should all pay for our music on iTunes and then pay an extra $10/mo to... wait, I already paid, why am I paying again?

But I don't think it should stop with music! What about that copy of Office you downloaded? We should all pay $XX/mo to the BSA (Business Software Alliance... not boy scouts) for downloading programs.... also remember the MPAA needs their $XX for the movies.... and the Entertainment Software Association needs their $XX for those games you download.... am I leaving anyone out? Music, software, movies, games... PORN! We owe the Adult Film and Video Association of America a TON! $XXX/mo sound alright? Ok so your monthly internet bill is $1,800, we offer a convenient payment plan of only $20 charged three times a day...

This actually shows the hypocrisy of the Business Software Alliance who also "police" software licensing in UK businesses also.

Surely they should be *supporting* and *publicising* Open Source software as a legal alternative to software piracy?

They either need to increase there notion of "sufficiently reliable", because there false-positive rate is to high, OR: there use Hollywood accounting that makes many positive samples fail to qualified for rewards. In any case, there is a 26/42 = 62% chance that the actual reward is $0, instead of the $3,593.75.

They're not exactly the most ethical types, so I wouldn't expect them to actually be honest with the techs that turn in companies either. Go read their terms, it's rather a complicated "contract", seems to have quite a few holes. https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/report/add.aspx?

It's all about saving money and avoiding unpleasant surprises (patent trolls) after a standard is deployed. What the hell is wrong with that?

Uh... While that statement sounds logical on the surface, there's one slight flaw in this "insightful" comment. The members of the BSA ARE the patent trolls.

http://www.bsa.org/country/BSA%20and%20Members/Our%20Members.aspx

You were wondering who is behind the BSA: Complete list of BSA members

http://www.bsa.org/country/BSA%20and%20Members/Our%20Members.aspx

Some pretty big players in overpriced hardware and software in there. Adobe, Microsoft and Quark being three who are big players in proprietary document creation software.

The Can't Pay Pirates are not an issue on Android since - the device is very f.g expensive and the apps are comparatively cheap (oh, did I mention that the devices - just like most stuff except food, services probably clothes - it's MORE expensive in POOR countries than in the good old US of A?)

The Can Pay Pirates are therefore the area of concern - and looking at the world map of piracy it's expected that the good old US of A would come on top by a large margin, as usual (since it's holding the top spot for software piracy by value on all charts ladies and gentlemen - all - freaking charts from BSA: http://portal.bsa.org/globalpiracy2009/studies/globalpiracystudy2009.pdf).

What a surprise. Good bye and good night.

*In case you were wondering Laconia was the region surrounding and ruled by the Spartans, who were known for their brevity in speech.

Interestingly, the photographer (or at least someone logging in under his name) states that the photo is real. Hard to tell. It's in English, but that isn't all that surprising given that the contractor is Russian and the Iranians don't necessarily speak Russian - English would be the usual 'common' language. It does seem to be a water treatment process, but nuclear reactors located in the middle of nowhere might include such functions.

The fun part about the picture is the popup "Your software license has expired". A commenter on the blog noted that use of non licensed software was common before the system was completed and turned over to the customer. Maybe we should alert the Iranian version of the Business Software Alliance and arrange for an 'inspection'.

Right, and because of this, it's a zero-sum game, and the rest of your analysis falls apart.

How do you figure?

You are claiming that someone selling the stock is then taking that money and using it to stimulate the economy. But, they had to buy the stock in the first place. In the long term, only their profit can really be called "stimulus".

You want to count each sale of the stock as "stimulus", but that's the fallacy of the broken window, and the same poor logic that leads the BSA to say that software piracy costs the economy hundreds of billions per year.

Skimming through the comments so far, I get the impression that most people are concentrating on the argument that if a person can't pirate, that doesn't mean they will buy. TFA makes an even better point: They BSA assumed that, by value, 50% of the software in use is pirated. Otherwise a 10% reduction in piracy wouldn't result in a 10% increase in sales, even if all of the ex-pirates purchased. Gee, doesn't 50% seem a little high?

How did BSA get 50%? A questionable study said greater than 40%, and since 50% is greater than 40%, it must be the correct number. (The actual number was 43%, FWIW.

The earlier study included countries such as China and Russia and it appears (even the detailed version didn't really say) that they assumed that each piece of unlicensed software counted as much as each piece of licensed software. So every unlicensed copy of Windows 98 running on an underpowered PC in a third world or BRIC country was as valuable as any piece of brand-new business software.

One thing that makes this look like so much hoo-ha is that the "detailed studies" available as PDFs don't contain any collected data or details about methodology. It's just nicely presented conclusions and spin.

Skimming through the comments so far, I get the impression that most people are concentrating on the argument that if a person can't pirate, that doesn't mean they will buy. TFA makes an even better point: They BSA assumed that, by value, 50% of the software in use is pirated. Otherwise a 10% reduction in piracy wouldn't result in a 10% increase in sales, even if all of the ex-pirates purchased. Gee, doesn't 50% seem a little high?

How did BSA get 50%? A questionable study said greater than 40%, and since 50% is greater than 40%, it must be the correct number. (The actual number was 43%, FWIW.

The earlier study included countries such as China and Russia and it appears (even the detailed version didn't really say) that they assumed that each piece of unlicensed software counted as much as each piece of licensed software. So every unlicensed copy of Windows 98 running on an underpowered PC in a third world or BRIC country was as valuable as any piece of brand-new business software.

One thing that makes this look like so much hoo-ha is that the "detailed studies" available as PDFs don't contain any collected data or details about methodology. It's just nicely presented conclusions and spin.

OpenOffice needed that boost. Linux too.

Suprisingly, Oracle is not a member, according to this page

It's only a "bizarre idea" if you're a myope who spends all of his or her time dealing with geeks.

Even a small barrier is enough to encourage legitimate purchases. This is fact supported by hard evidence: http://global.bsa.org/faces/pdf/FOIP-pr.pdf

during last night's marathon session of Starcraft 2: Liberty (the RELOADED release)

You know, you can say you pirate things because it's a civil matter. However if you out what you pirate, like in this case, the copyright holders can sue you. You have already admitted you pirated and seeded the newest Starcraft 2, so I have personally wrote to the copyright holders to let them know that and everyone should do the same.

The addresses to contact are

Blizzard: https://us.blizzard.com/support/webform.xml?locale=en_US
Activision: http://www.activision.com/index.html#contact|en_US
BSA: https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/internet/edit.aspx
FBI: https://tips.fbi.gov/

Oh, so you admit to an unauthorized installation?
Please submit your personal information to the following. . . . http://www.bsa.org/country.aspx?sc_lang=en

.

IIPAs seven member associations are: the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

BSA Members

Adobe Altium Apple Autodesk AVG Bentley Systems CA Cadence Design Systems Cisco Systems CNC Software - Mastercam Corel Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation Dell Embarcadero HP IBM Intel Intuit Kaspersky McAfee Microsoft Mindjet Minitab PTC Quark Quest Rockwell Automation Rosetta Stone SAP Siemens PLM Software, Inc. Stone Bond Technologies Sybase Symantec Synopsys The MathWorks

Why in the world would the IIPA try to outlaw FOSS?

THIS particular system is protected by the law - the college has no case against Dehelean

Don't believe me? Look at http://www.bsa.org/

There are several free (or one-time use) software audit tools available. Download them from below and run them. Then give the output reports to your CIO and/or CFO. Keep copies for yourself, and document that you did the audits.

This is not a matter to shrug off. I used to work at a company that got fined $40,000 for not being able to document our licenses. I actually believe we were in compliance, but we couldn't prove it.

http://www.bsa.org/country/Tools%20and%20Resources/Free%20Software%20Audit%20Tools.aspx
http://www.bsa.org/country/Tools%20and%20Resources/For%20Employers.aspx

There are several free (or one-time use) software audit tools available. Download them from below and run them. Then give the output reports to your CIO and/or CFO. Keep copies for yourself, and document that you did the audits.

This is not a matter to shrug off. I used to work at a company that got fined $40,000 for not being able to document our licenses. I actually believe we were in compliance, but we couldn't prove it.

http://www.bsa.org/country/Tools%20and%20Resources/Free%20Software%20Audit%20Tools.aspx
http://www.bsa.org/country/Tools%20and%20Resources/For%20Employers.aspx

Find new job, report old employer, get reward https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/rewardsconditions.aspx .

Report them to the BSA at https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/home.aspx and make a boatload of reward money. Then start looking for another job as you wait a couple years for your check while they sort it all out.

...Or call the BSA. Of course if you're going to do that, better not to identify yourself by bringing your concern to management first.

It would seem that ship has already sailed in this case. Maybe they can cash in on reward money!
https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/rewardsconditions.aspx

...Or call the BSA. Of course if you're going to do that, better not to identify yourself by bringing your concern to management first.

It would seem that ship has already sailed in this case. Maybe they can cash in on reward money!
https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/rewardsconditions.aspx

• By phone: 1-888-NOPIRACY
• Online: Business Software Alliance reporting form
• For management: What to do when you receive a BSA audit letter.
• Download OpenOffice
• Download Linux (Debian)

Endangering one's job, no, since you are only an anonymous snitch. And doing so to avoid unethical behavior? Please. You can get a different job to avoid that. It's obvious that those that snitch to the BSA are just interested in the "rewards of up to $1,000,000 for qualifying reports." Cowardly, indeed.

I was in this situation once and I flatly refused to install the unlicensed software. If you have mentioned the issue to management, they already see you as someone they can't trust. You may as well report them to https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/home.aspx or the like, because your days are numbered at this company.

Anonymously to the BSA. And start looking for a new job.

Do what you're told. Look for another job.

Be a good little wage slave and don't get uppity and challenge your masters until you find new masters. Or call the BSA. Of course if you're going to do that, better not to identify yourself by bringing your concern to management first.

Judging from the comments it seems like this may be a bogus claim of copyright infringement.

That said, if MS *were* infringing, this wouldn't be insignificant. MS is a member of the Business Software Alliance, one of those trade groups that encourages disgruntled employees to turn in their former employers for violations, provides controversial statistics/misinformation about the frequency and effects of piracy, lobbies congress to increase penalties and strengthen laws against copyright violators, and goes after small and medium-sized businesses for violations large or small, whether or not they're "making bloatloads" off the software.

One of the things about trade organizations like the BSA, MPAA, RIAA, etc. is they can act as a PR cover for companies who want to use bullying tactics but don't want their actions directly associated with the member companies names. The BSA has certainly been accused of such bullying and as being a "front" for Microsoft in particular, so if they were pirating code themselves, it would be significant.

so Microsoft Federation Police Department is going to deploy these to look for WGA violations? good! now Joe User will BEG to get linux installed.

Is piracy good for microsoft, and bad for linux? If *indows wasn't "free", in practice, would linux have seen more adoption? Should Linux users then help Microsoft denounce piracy, go for the piracy snitch rewards?

For that matter, how can we know the difference?

You get a copyright infringement notice:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I, the person whose name is stated below, issue this notice for the purposes of condition 3 of item 4 of the table in subsection 116AH(1) of the Copyright Act 1968 and regulation 20I of the Copyright Regulations 1969.

I am the agent of the owner of the copyright in the copyright material specified in the Schedule, being copyright material residing on your system or network.

I believe, in good faith, that the storage of the specified copyright material on your system or network is not authorised by the copyright owner or a licensee of the copyright owner, or the Copyright Act 1968, and is therefore an infringement of the copyright in the material.

I have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information and statements in this notice are accurate.
----------------
Regards,

Tarun Sawney,
Senior Director- Anti Piracy, Asia Pacific
BSA
URL: http://www.bsa.org/
E-mail: bsa@copyright-compliance.com
Address: 300 Beach Road, The Concourse #25-08 , Singapore 199555
Telephone no: +65-62922072
Fax no: +65-62926369

So then you visit the website provided, and explain yourself and remove the offending music/movie/software. If they don't accept the explanation, then you are classified as a bad person. If you keep doing it, then you are a recidivist and now it's 2 strikes against your name. One more and you're off the net.

The RIAA doesn't care if you make a copy of an audio CD for different machines in your own house. The BSA does.

The BSA's target is the company that buys one copy and runs ten copies.

The Google ad for this page is:

• Company Steals Software?
  Earn up to $1 Million for Reporting Software Piracy - All Confidential
  www.BSA.org/reportpiracy

Where exactly did he get his numbers? I wonder?

I believe he was citing the Business Software Alliance's annual report on piracy. Although that value I believe is for world-wide losses, not American.

Isnt that the one the conference board of canada plagarized?

Where exactly did he get his numbers? I wonder?

I believe he was citing the Business Software Alliance's annual report on piracy. Although that value I believe is for world-wide losses, not American.

Both Linux and "warez" are free. How to change things? Everyone indeed gets bogged down in details, petty issues, etc, and fail to focus on the common objectives and the big picture, still working very hard, thereby accomplishing lots of things, but not the end objectives. People still continue to prefer Windows, reformatting their preinstalled Linux machines with "free" windowz gamez serialz warez? How to change that? "Because they're ______." Not helpful. Even in places where Linux would be favored for the price, people still are tempted to run Windows, whether paid for or not. It's familiar, available, runs the software they want, bending the law a little has no practical consequences. Should Linux techs become friends of the BSA, and start collecting US $1M piracy snitch rewards?. Does gnu/linux/bsd just need more open-source games? Exchange and Outlook clones? Instant messengers? Training programmers and sysadmins? Or just users? Or would a Linux distro with the ability to run Warez better than Microsoft gain so many users and gain X% installed base? How much installed base does microsoft gain from users who never bought anything? How will standard Linux APIs for voice, video, graphics, 3d, and a developers kit come about? However, rather than ponder these difficult questions, a great many will resort to bashing the use of the word "warez", creating more fighting over nothing and accomplishing just that.