Ask Slashdot: Dealing With the Business Software Alliance?

Kagetsuki writes "We've just gotten a letter from an attorney representing the Business Software Alliance stating someone (we're certain it's a disgruntled former employee) submitted information we are using illegally copied software. The thing is... we're not using illegally copied software. We have licenses for all the commercial software we are using. Still, according to articles on the BSA, that's irrelevant and they'll end up suing us anyway. So we now need a lawyer to deal with their claims and we don't have the money — this will surely be the end of the company into which I've sunk all my savings and three years of my life. Has anybody dealt with the Business Software Alliance before? What action should I take? Is there any sort of financial recourse, or at least a way cover our legal fees?"

Comments

Re:We had this happen at a previous job

[BitterOak]

Since the BSA provided us with the list they claimed was illegal, we scrubbed it from the offending boxes so as to appear legal.

VERY BAD ADVICE!!!!! When the BSA goes after your company for software copyright violation, it is purely a CIVIL matter. The worst that can happen is your business can be sued out of existence. By destroying evidence, you are committing a CRIMINAL offense, and one that is prosecuted very vigorously, especially by the Feds. You can spend some serious time in jail for that sort of thing.