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Shakedown: How the Business Software Alliance Operates

Posted by michael on from the grab-by-the-ankles-shake-until-money-stops-falling dept.

An anonymous source writes: "I'm a faculty member at a public university which the Business Software Alliance contacted in a bulk mailing last Fall. Stupidly, our IT department invited them in to 'explain' licensing to us, and now we are trying to fend off an audit on our computers (public and private). Two questions: what kind of leverage does the BSA actually have against us? And does anyone have war stories, successful or otherwise, of their encounters with the BSA?" Although Slashdot is running this story as from an anonymous reader, we have contacted the source and believe the story is factual and the appeal for help is real. Consider this Slashdot's contribution to National Copyright Awareness Week.

The source continues: "The report that the BSA gave to our administration was filled with scary stories about other schools who tried to resist, so unless there's some hard evidence to the contrary I suspect our university will just roll over. We were told that:

  • auditing software *will* be installed on every campus machine;
  • the license for every program, on every machine, must be produced upon demand;
  • failure to produce licenses for all commercial or shareware software will constitute prima facie evidence of illegal possession, with penalties that could range from the confiscation of the machine to the firing of the user;
  • and this includes computers *personally* owned by faculty."

7 of 842 comments (clear)

  1. The BSA isn't all bad by larsu · · Score: 5, Funny

    The BSA isn't all bad. First, haggles over license increase the total cost of ownership for commercial software, which makes free (as in speech) software more attractive.

    Second, I used them to shut down a competing software retail store once. The place was selling Microsoft OEM software off the shelf. A call each to the BSA and to Microsofts Piracy line and the place was out of business in 4 months. :)

  2. Re:Fire that guy! by scrytch · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the Gestappo comes by asking if you've seen any Jews, do you ask them to explain what Naziism is all about?

    Godwin's Law. Discussion over. Ask a Bosnian Muslim how he feels about your comparison. Or a Hutu.

    --
    I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
  3. BSA have a history of lunacy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Register's article BSA deploys imaginary pirate software detector vans explains everything.

    - Toby Inkster

  4. Well, one option is to uninstall everything by Illserve · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just nuke your machines across the board, backing up the important data, and reinstall everything after they leave. Tell them you use MSDOS Edit to write your papers in LATEX by hand. This process, while a huge hassle, is probably less hassle than the BSA will give you, and when you're done, you'll have cleared out hundreds of gigs of useless crap, reinitialized your Windows registries and effective defragmented everything in one fell swoop. Also a good time to do some software upgrades.

    I know this idea is unfeasible, but I'd love to see the look on their faces when a dual processor 1.5 ghz machine boots to a dos prompt.

  5. Re:Legality in doing this? by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
    but how can they just march in and start installing software and demanding licensing documentation? They are not a government organization, right?

    Maybe they interpret the U.S. Constitution thusly:

    • The government is not permitted to perform unreasonable searches and seizures.
    • All rights not expressly given to the government are reserved for the people.
    • Therefore: Private parties have the express right to perform unreasonable searches and seizures!
  6. Re:my vision of talking with the BSA by Lxy · · Score: 5, Funny

    BSA: We need to see licenses for all your software.
    Me: This is an open source shop, but if you tell me which open source license you would like to see...
    BSA: We at least need you to run this auditing software.
    Me: Hmmm, seems kinda pointless, but what the hell. Do you have a Linux version?
    BSA: No. You will have to remove your Linux OS and install an MS based OS that we do support.

    To continue:

    Me: Ok, fine. (Installs Windoze on a machine not currently being used)
    BSA: Where did you get that copy of Windows?
    Me: It came with the PC. See the sticker?
    BSA: You mean you have a licensed PC but are not running Windows on it?
    Me: Yes. We don't run Windows here. We're a linux shop.
    BSA: According to MS's license policy, the license must remain installed on that PC.
    Me: Ummm..... what?
    BSA: And as for the rest of these PCs..
    Me: I'm calling the cops.
    BSA: We're giving you a grace period to reinstall Windows on all of them to meet compliance requirements. You have 5 days.
    Me: But.. But...
    BSA: Good Day.

    --

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
  7. Re:Can I suggest MIT? by ckd · · Score: 5, Funny
    What about MIT?

    I can see it now...the BSA auditor shows up, sees a Dell box, and walks up to it to start his Win32 auditing tools.

    Then he says "what's this freaking owl doing on the login screen?"