KPMG%20agents%20on%20a%20mission%20to%20do%20away%20with%20piracy%20By%20Lesley%20Stones,%20Business%20Day,%205%20Nov%202002

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LicenceWise Software Licence Risk Management

• If you are wondering whether your company is
  using licenced software, here is some food for
  thought
• There are regulatory organisations such as the
  BSA (Business Software Alliance) , who are
  visiting over 2000 companies in South Africa to
  enforce piracy claims for the use of pirated
  software,
• You may have lost proof of licencing or
  purchased invalid licences over the past few
  years where you could be exposed to litigation,
• If you have recently received correspondence
  from the BSA you are on their hit list,
• Some relevant industry information.

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KPMG agents on a mission to do away with piracy
By Lesley Stones, Business Day,
5 Nov 2002

• BSA estimates that 38 of business software used
  in SA is pirated
• Information Technology Editor
• COMPANIES using pirated software may soon hear a
  knock on the door as auditors from KPMG drop in
  to assess their legal status.
• KPMG's forensic department will visit 2000
  companies, many of which are already suspected of
  using forged computer programs or running them
  without a licence. The campaign is being led by
  the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an
  antipiracy body with members including Microsoft,
  Adobe, the Softline Group and Symantec. The BSA
  launched this latest crackdown in September by
  sending letters to more than 28000 companies
  urging them to legalise their software.
• The follow-up visits are now under way, said
  Andrew Lindström, chairman of the BSA in SA.
• He is warning companies not to be complacent as
  the hefty fines, backdated licence fees and bad
  publicity imposed on software pirates could put
  them out of business.
• "We have 25 KPMG antipiracy agents around the
  country to cover all the major centres. They are
  calling ahead to make appointments with the chief
  information officer or the person who owns the
  company."

• Many of the 2000 target companies have already
  been fingered for flouting the law in tipoffs
  made to the BSA. A company receiving a visit may
  not necessarily be suspected of running illegal
  software, but it may mean exactly that, warned
  Lindström. "It's a combination of companies we
  particularly want to visit and others chosen at
  random."
• The BSA will litigate against any firm using
  software without a licence, said Lindström, the
  country manager of Adobe Systems. "For too long
  organisations have hidden behind the veil of
  ignorance. Organisations that are unlicensed
  should notify the BSA immediately to avoid any
  action for non-compliance."
• The auditors will visit companies from various
  industries over the next three months.
• A plea for directors to welcome the visits has
  been issued by Tony Wright, a partner in KPMG
  Forensic. The agents had been thoroughly trained
  to carry out the task and would emphasise the
  need for all software to be licensed and help
  each company to comply, he said. "Our agents will
  be presenting the downfalls of using unlicensed
  software and highlighting the common types of
  software piracy."
• The agents will also gauge corporate opinions
  about the BSA.

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KPMG agents on a mission to do away with piracy

• That could prove enlightening, since the BSA and
  Microsoft in particular have been accused of
  heavy-handed and intrusive tactics in their
  previous antipiracy efforts. One recent campaign
  has been a "name and shame" scheme run by
  Microsoft, which has taken out newspaper
  advertisements naming those companies which have
  paid a settlement after being caught running
  pirated software.
• Research shows that 98 of SA's corporate
  decision makers are aware that piracy is illegal,
  but many believe they will not be caught.
  Moreover, it is seen as a victimless crime which
  directors may ignore or actively condone in an
  effort to save the considerable fees which
  software firms charge to use their products.
• However, the BSA's legal representative, Spoor
  Fisher, is investigating more than 400 SA
  companies for piracy.

• They include major corporations which risk being
  publicly shamed when they reach a settlement or
  are taken to court.
• The BSA estimates that at least 38 of business
  software used in SA is pirated, with a retail
  value of R500m. That means the industry loses
  R1,4m a day and government loses R150m a year in
  taxes.
• The most common forms of corporate piracy are
  when companies download a program to more users
  than it has bought licences for, when staff
  download software from home, or when the original
  disc containing the software is a forgery.
• Others are caught out by buying computers
  pre-loaded with illegal software. About 700000
  personal computers will be sold in SA this year
  and about 120000 will contain illegal software.
• Nov 05 2002 120000000AM  Lesley Stones
  Business Day 1st Edition

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362 Or Licencewise_at_licencewise.co.za For
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