Taken from PC World Magazine, March 2008 Edition

The Business Software Association is on the prowl to catch small businesses that are using pirated software.  What is pirated software?  Simple… it is any program that is installed on a system without an associated software license.  You will have to read the license details for each program carefully, to determine if you are legal.  Some companies offer a site license (as many computers as you like, provided they are at the same address); some offer a per-user license (as many computers as you like, but a limited number of people using them at a time); but most are a per-computer license (one license for every system).

A 10 employee architectural firm was fined $67,000 for illegal software, another company was fined $110,000.  The maximum fine under the law is $150,000 per pirated copy of any Microsoft, Apple or Adobe program.  Also, it does not matter if you were not aware of the law, or the fact you had pirated copies of software.

Get Out Of Trouble

The first thing you need to do is to perform a software audit.  Make an inventory of every program installed on every computer you own.  Be sure to itemize version numbers and serial number.  Then, compare this data to your licenses or sales receipts.  If the BSA asks for proof of ownership, you must be able to prove that you purchased the software.

The next step is to figure out if every copy of every illegal program is necessary.  It is possible that you have programs installed on every system, just out of convenience… but they are seldom (or never) used.  Remove them.

The last step is to purchase the required licenses you require.  Depending on the number of licenses you require, you can save by purchasing bundles.  If you find that you need more licenses than you can afford at once, make a written plan to bring yourself up-do-date.  If the BSA audits your business, and they can see that you have a plan to purchase the required licenses over the next year, they may go easy on you.

If you need assistance in this process, please contact us and we help you every step of the way.