What You Should Know About Software

Inadvertent Software Piracy

You can easily be breaking the law, and exposing yourself to civil liabilities, by doing something seemingly innocuous!

You get software from all kinds of sources—some of it comes with your computer, some of it you pay hundreds of dollars for at the store, and some of it you download (either paying for it or not).

What many people don't realize, though, is that all commercial software you buy is licensed, not sold. What this means is, while you may own the hologram-stamped CD or DVD, and all the nice colorful manuals and the glossy cardboard box or plastic case it came in, the contents of the CD/DVD (the software itself) are protected by copyright. This is why every software product comes with some kind of License Agreement, telling you how many computers you can install it on, or how many users can use it at once. This can appear on a printed card in the box, or, more often, in a file on the CD/DVD. For downloadable software purchases, the License Agreement will often be presented to you before you can download it, requiring you to indicate your acceptance.

For example, Adobe Acrobat Professional is licensed for a single user, and allows that one user to install it on one desktop computer, and one laptop, so long as two different people don't use the software at the same time. Trend Micro security software is licensed in five-user blocks, meaning the program can be installed and used by five users at a time over a network if you buy only five licenses. Software that runs the core services of a network, such as Microsoft Windows Server, usually has more complicated licensing models, requiring you to buy enough licenses to cover how many users access the server over the network, how many computers, how many hand-held devices, or some combination of these.

If you violate the License Agreement, you are violating the software publisher's copyright, and the software publisher could sue you for damages.

Unfortunately, although each seems like an innocent mistake, both examples represent inadvertent software license agreement violations. Both Joe and Maria figured their company bought the software, so they can use it within their organization. But, both companies are at risk.

Then again, so what? How would anyone get caught, and what are the penalties? Well, there are agencies that actively solicit employees of companies to report suspected software piracy, offering confidentiality and up to a million-dollar reward! An example is the Business Software Alliance, whose website you can visit via this link.

To read a revealing article on how BSA works on the Windows IT Pro information web site, click here (you might be presented with an advertisement first).

To read an example of how BSA is viewed from the perspective of businesses targeted with accusations of piracy, see this page on the website of a legal services firm that deals with these issues on behalf of consumers, called Scott & Scott, LLP.

Clearly, just being unaware of how to properly deploy your software can expose your organization to significant risk. Sure, people have challenged the validity of some license agreements, and even won against giant software companies. But, these were unusual situations, and the risk and cost of the battles were enormous. And, overall, copyright law tends to fall on the side of the software companies.

As part of your service agreement with J.D. Fox Micro, you may optionally request a software licensing audit. We will then help you fix any problems inexpensively, internally, and confidentially.

Cheap software

Retail markup on software is relatively low. If you find software available for a fraction of the standard retail price you find in conventional outlets, it is almost certainly not the version you are expecting, and it may be patently illegal for you to use. For example, it might be a special edition for educational or government institutions, which is not licensed for a business to use. Or, it might simply be stolen. J.D. Fox Micro has investigated some of the more common outlets for deeply discounted software who proclaim that their software is genuine and legal, and has determined that this is not the case.

One way to save on software licensing is to avoid retail. Retail software is so expensive because with it you get the right to call the publisher itself (such as Microsoft, Symantec, or Adobe) for technical support. But, there are many outlets through which you can acquire software where someone else provides the support, most commonly when you buy a new computer. In such a case, the computer manufacturer (Dell, Acer, Panasonic, Sony, etc.) provides the technical support, and so gets a huge discount on the price of the software from the publisher, which they pass on to you.

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