Sometimes a company receives notices of audits from many publishers or trade associations at the same time. Often this is because multiple agencies have received confidential reports from the same informant. If a current or previous employee contacts both the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”) and BSA|The Software Alliance (“BSA”), the company may face…
Autodesk routinely sends letters to businesses that it suspects may be using Autodesk software products without adequate licensing, both in order to confirm those suspicions as well as to address any license-compliance discrepancies. Typically under threat of a federal lawsuit for copyright infringement, Autodesk requires targeted businesses to respond to detailed questions about the Autodesk…
Software publishers are regularly auditing customers to ensure compliance with license agreements, and may initiate audits directly, or through entities such as BSA|The Software Alliance, and the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”). These entities send a letter that asks the customer to conduct a full audit of its network or potentially face copyright infringement…
Software publishers utilize myriad different license metrics to determine what kind and quantity of particular licenses their customers are required to purchase. Some are relatively straightforward, such as “one license per server” or “one license per user.” Others can be more complex, such as “one license per each virtual processor core…Subject to a four-core minimum…With…
One of the most controversial tactics the software policing agencies use when calculating its settlement demands is its practice of unbundling software suites such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite. Unbundling occurs when the target of an agency audit is unable to provide acceptable proof of purchase for one or more installation of a…
BSA | The Software Alliance (“BSA”), and the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”) pursue copyright infringement claims on behalf of software publishers, such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk, among many others. Typically the BSA and SIIA send audit letters to companies believed to be using unauthorized copies of software products. In their letters, they demand that…
