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Crying Foul At the BSA's "Nauseating" Anti-Piracy Tactics
Barence writes "The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been accused of heavy-handed tactics that could drive small companies to incriminate themselves. The Microsoft-backed piracy watchdog generates a quarter of its cases by offering employees cash rewards for informing on their own employer. 'It is basically harvesting allegations from disgruntled employees and farming them out to expensive law firms,' one small business owner told PC Pro, who said he was 'nauseated' by the tactics. The BSA then sends out a letter demanding the business owner fill out a software audit, or potentially face court action — even though the BSA has no power to demand such an audit and hasn't pursued a court case in five years. 'It's designed to scare the recipient into thinking that they're obliged to provide certain information when, in fact, it's difficult to see that they are,' said a leading IT lawyer."
Everything runs on Linux over here, you are not even allowed in the door, and if you try to enter you will be escorted out by a HUGE man that hates authority figures, (i hired him because he is the type that hates authority figures)
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
The original can stand, as well. The suits can keep their crappy proprietary systems. They can keep their heavy-handed tactics. And they can keep digging their hole, all the way to China.
Dear BSA,
It has been a subject of much hilarity in this office that we should be sent a threatening letter from yourselves, a self-authority in software licensing with little to no legal authority to follow through on your threat.
However, for your records it should be noted that as a registered company of Legal Advocates (Company #07248227), one of the things we tend to do is ensure that we operate completely legally. As software goes, this means the purchase of license keys as and when necessary. While we are not at liberty to discuss details for reasons of client information security and more to the point, national security, we can assure you and your employers at Microsoft and Adobe that our licenses are copasetic. When you can show the following, we would gladly participate in a full audit, at your expense and on your time:
1. SCI-5 clearance signed by the Minister for Defence and the Home and Foreign Secretaries;
2. Written Royal assent for the potential of disclosure of information which could affect the safety and security of Royal members, Crown properties and/or Subjects;
3. A commitment to Non-Disclosure under Section 4 of the Official Secrets Act 1989, by persons thereto authorised to carry out the audit;
4. Assent by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales to cover the potential disclosure of information pertaining to live in camera proceedings;
5. Reference to the Authority of Law by which the BSA operate;
6. Reference to the Authority of Law which compels ourselves as individuals and the Company as a Legal entity to co-operate with a private concern whose singular purpose seems to be the extraction of money from legitimate businesses and individuals with zero return.
When (not before) all the above conditions are met, shall we even consider further correspondence.
Good Day to you, Sir.
-
Their response:
Sir,
We acknowledge receipt of your counteroffer, and hereby inform you that no further action shall be taken.
Faithfully,
pp.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Are you sure it wasn't a nail?
Dear BSA:
Your Audit Software failed to install. I had our senior system administrator take a look at it and he said it wasn't compatible with Wine. I asked him if maybe it would work with Beer. He gave be some puzzled look and mumbled something about a "DEB or RPM version". Do you know what he might be talking about?
(signed) Bob, senior PHB.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars