Surviving an audit. (software infringement audit by the Business Software Alliance) (includes related article on programs to minimize and eliminate illegal software usage in a company) (Industry Trend or Event)

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) can initiate a software audit of a company if it becomes aware of non-compliance of software licenses. Refusal to be audited can result in a lawsuit, and the audit itself can result in fines. Companies can take five steps to make the audit less painful and avoid...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Network world 1997-11, Vol.14 (46), p.81
Main Author: Overly, Michael
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting and auditing
Agreements
Audits
Business Software Alliance
Compliance
Copyright
Employees
Information management
Infringement
Licensed products
Licenses
Licensing
Management issue
Software
Software piracy
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Business Software Alliance (BSA) can initiate a software audit of a company if it becomes aware of non-compliance of software licenses. Refusal to be audited can result in a lawsuit, and the audit itself can result in fines. Companies can take five steps to make the audit less painful and avoid some penalties. The company should respond promptly when an audit notice is received. It should then encourage employees to report unlicensed software to managers and also caution employees not to delete any software from their PCs. Once the company agrees to an audit, SBA will send a settlement agreement defining the company's obligations and specifying penalties. The company can negotiate these issues. The company should also insist that the agreement contains adequate protections for the company. Finally, the company should be ready to provide the records and documentation requested by BSA.
ISSN:0887-7661