The Business Software Alliance is offering corporate software pirates in seven U.S. areas a chance to start the new year on the right side of the law, offering a one-month grace period for companies to acquire necessary licenses without facing infringement penalties.
The software and Internet industry trade group, which enforces license and copyright restrictions, announced the one-month reprieve earlier this week in hopes that license violators will take the opportunity to conduct a software audit and take the necessary steps to get legal.
The Jan. 1 to Jan. 31 grace period is available to businesses in Billings, Bozeman and Missoula, Mont.; Houston; Indianapolis; Nashville; Orlando; Norfolk and Richmond, Va.; and San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
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BSA said it will send businesses in these cities promotional materials on how to participate in the program. The reprieve does not apply to companies already under investigation by the BSA.
Fines for software violations can reach $150,000 per infringed copyright work, the BSA said, adding that it has already collected more than $68 million in penalties from companies using unlicensed software over the last nine years.
According to a BSA-sponsored study conducted by International Planning & Research Group, software piracy cost the U.S. more that $5.6 billion in lost wages in 2000, resulting in a tax loss of $1.6 billion.
In an effort to pare down these losses and curb piracy, BSA has offered seven grace-period programs since August 2000, affecting businesses in dozens of U.S. cities.
Companies interested in participating in the current program may download the group's software audit tool here.
The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.
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