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Microsoft to Get Tough on License Dodgers
An anonymous reader writes "PC Advisor reports that Microsoft is going to start getting tough with certain small business customers. They are going to examine their small customer license database — any discrepancies and it will call you for an audit. If you refuse it will send in the BSA and the legal heavies. "
PC Advisor reports that Microsoft is going to start getting tough with certain small business customers.
They're starting with the small ones, because we all know what would happen if they started with the big ones.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
The BSA is not a government entity, nor is it part of any law enforcement. If Microsoft wants to audit you, and you tell them no, can they actually force it on you? Or is this something where you have a contractual agreement with them (for your legitimate copies of Windows) that allows them to audit you whenever they feel like it? If so, wouldn't this simply encourage people who pirate a few copies of Windows to simply pirate all of them? You can't be in violation of a contract you don't have.
At my former job Microsoft did this to us already. We were one company with two divisions that had individual accounts with Microsoft. Stupid, but that was the way that the owner wanted it. Anyway Microsoft was reviewing the size of the company (from what source I don't know) and only one of the division's software purchase from them and demanded an audit claiming that we did not purchase enough software to run a busniess the size we were. They implyed that we must be 'pirateing' some software. It was a major PITA combining audit data from both divisions.
zenray
You mean other than the fact that civil law around the world makes it legal to build private police forces like this to enforce copyright? That these private police forces can enter private property, seize assets that contain confidential information, and are accountable to no-one? The BSA and other copyright police forces have more power to search than the FBI. Not withstanding the obvious civil rights concerns, or the privacy concerns, copyright owners have the power to look at any computer system, any piece of source code even, that they may find interesting. Who gets to look and where they get to look is determined entirely by who has the best lawyers. In most parts of the world, the local police will happily aid in the use of force to inspect.
I'm waiting for the next upgrade to the TRIPS treaties to see whether or not copyright police forces have started demanding covert inspection rights.. making it legal for them to plant spies in your business to see if you have all the appropriate licenses or whether any of your source code is violating their IP, without the messiness of a raid. Maybe they'll ask for widespread surveillance rights too.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Why didn't they do this 6 months or a year back? Nope, they're waiting for Vista. Thus is an extra encouragement for people to "Get Legal" and thus get Vista and push up Vista sales numbers.
After a few months people (shareholders, analysts etc) will be looking at Vista sales and they better be selling it like crazy to support all the hype.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Hogwash.
The BSA is not a government or law enforcement agency. It is a commercial entity engaged on behalf of a copyright holder to perform audits of suspected license violations. Your participation with their audit is voluntary unless they have sufficient probably cause to justify a warrant, in which case they will be accompanied by a law enforcement agent. And quite frankly, there's no reason why you would want to cooperate with the BSA, even if you know your are 100% in compliance, because of the cost in your time in going through the process.
The biggest problem is going to be finding purchase records at all. Most businesses are not sufficiently organized to deal with a license audit. And, since most small businesses buy their software through multiple sources -- OEM, eCommerce, local retaillers, electronics stores, even bundled with other applications -- usually the business is forced to go back through tax records to come up with receipts and invoices. Overall, it is usually a combination of physical evidence -- invoices, credit card transactions, physical media, license keys, registration codes, email messages, etc -- that combined provide compelling, if not conclusive, evidence of legal purchase. If a company changes its name, or merges with another, there will be sufficient documentation of what has occurred that this wouldn't be a problem. An original receipt doesn't even need to show the name of the purchaser (i.e, buying MS-Office at Staples doesn't make your copy illegal just because Staples doesn't print your name on the receipt).
Remember that, at least in the US, the evidence must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If you have original media, CD-cases and CD-Keys -- all the mechanisms of Microsoft's license enforcement -- it is unlikely that a jury will find in the BSA's favor for lack of purchase records.
--- A man with a briefcase can steal more money, than any man with a gun. [Don Henley]
DM9290 brings up very valid points. I was threatened with such an audit. This practice DOES happen ALREADY in the US. MS demanded that I pay them money for suspected license violations (lacking sufficient licenses for the number of machines I had). I politely told them I wasnt sending them anything or letting them on my property. The BSA followed up with a demand for money or a forced audit. I told them (not as politely) to go to hell and I would have any of their personnel arrested and sue them if any of their personnel (or MS's) stepped on my property.
Here's the clincher... our machines were (quite frequently) hit by machines from MS's "internal" network before this - perhaps to ascertain the number of machines we has running. BUT... here's where it gets interesting... all our machines were running OS/2 Warp or Warp Server - except 2 Macs - which were running MacOS 8 and 9. I reminded them that THEY have no control over licensing to OS/2, and even though it wasnt their business I had legal copies of OS/2 for FAR more stations than I had. I then advised both MS & the BSA that I permanently was refusing them the right to enter my property for ANY reason and any such action contrary to that would be considered criminal tresspass as they had been notified in writing. A few more scans of my network and I never heard from them again.
Until my final letter and a few nasty calls to the BSA though, I was being threatened with a 5 figure fine and imprisonment (I didnt know it was their right to make such threats - they were worded as "you will be..." not as "if you are found in violation of, you may be").
Needless to say, what if I was a poor windows user, in full compliance, but bound by MS's idiotic license agreements to allow such behavior?
- RobertMfromLI
PS: And yes, I really was running all OS/2, eComStation or MacOS - no Windows.