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Are you in legal software compliance?
The questions to ask yourself are:
Is my business protected? Is my business using illegal Software? What are my employees illegally installing?
Would I go out of business if I were fined $150,000 to $250,000 for each instance of unlicensed software?
Do I want to go to Jail for not spending a couple hundred bucks for licensed software or blocking employee installations?
TEK 1st can provide you with the peace of mind in know that you are compliant.
Software Asset Management is the solution.
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24/7 Emergency Service
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Server and Workstation Support
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Network and Internet Security
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Backup and Recovery
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Network Design and Installation
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Hardware & Software Solutions
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Procurement
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What is Software Piracy
Software piracy is the unauthorized copying or
distribution of copyrighted software. This can be
done by copying, downloading, sharing, selling, or
installing multiple copies onto personal or work
computers. What a lot of people don’t realize or
don’t think about is that when you purchase
software, you are actually purchasing a license to
use it, not the actual software. That license is
what tells you how many times you can install the
software, so it’s important to read it. If you make
more copies of the software than the license
permits, you are pirating.
Simply put, making or
downloading unauthorized copies of software is
breaking the law, no matter how many copies or
people are involved.
Whether you are casually making a few copies for
friends, loaning disks, distributing or downloading
pirated software from the Internet, or buying a
single software program and then installing it on
multiple workstations (including personal), you are
committing copyright infringement—also known as
software piracy.
It doesn’t matter if you are doing it to make
money or not — if you or your company is caught
copying software, you may be held liable under both
civil and criminal law. Civil penalties can be as
high as $150,000 per software program
infringed. In addition, introducing pirated
software into your computing environment can open
you up to the risk of damage to your network through
defective software or malicious code.
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Know the Law
Many businesses, both large and small, face serious legal
risks because of software piracy. Under the law, a company can
be held liable for its employees’ actions. If an employee is
installing unauthorized software copies on company computers or
acquiring illegal software through the Internet, the company can
be sued for copyright infringement. This is true even if the
company’s management was unaware of the employee’s actions.
Quite simply, to make or download unauthorized copies of
software is to break the law, no matter how many copies are
involved. Whether you are casually making a few copies for
friends, loaning disks, distributing and/or downloading pirated
software via the Internet, or buying a single software program
and then installing it on 100 of your company’s personal
computers, you are committing a copyright infringement. It
doesn’t matter if you are doing it to make money or not — if you
or your company is caught copying software, you may be held
liable under both civil and criminal law.
If the copyright owner brings a civil action against you, the
owner can seek to stop you from using its software immediately
and can also request monetary damages. The copyright owner may
then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount it
has lost because of your infringement as well as any profits
attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages, which
can be as much as $150,000 for each
program copied. In addition, the government can criminally
prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can
be fined up to $250,000, or
sentenced to jail
for up to five (5) years, or both.
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Why a License Matters
You may not realize it, but software
development involves a team effort that blends the
creative ideas and talents of programmers, writers
and graphic artists. And like most creative works,
such as books, music and films, computer software is
protected by copyright laws.
When you purchase software, you do
not become the owner of the copyright. Rather, you
are purchasing the right to use the software under
certain restrictions imposed by the copyright owner,
typically the software publisher. The precise rules
are described in the documentation accompanying the
software -- the license. It is imperative that you
understand and adhere to these rules. Most often,
they state that you have the right to load the
software onto a single computer and make one backup
copy. If you copy, distribute or install the
software in ways that the license prohibits, whether
you are swapping disks with friends and coworkers or
participating in widespread duplication, you are
violating federal copyright law. Even if you only
help someone else make unauthorized copies, you are
still liable under the copyright law.
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Greater exposure to software
viruses, corrupt disks, or otherwise defective
software;
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Inadequate or no documentation.
No warranties;
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Lack of technical product
support available to properly licensed users;
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Ineligibility for software
upgrades offered to properly licensed users.
This information and more can be found on the Business
Software Alliance website.
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