Crying Foul At the BSA's "Nauseating" Anti-Piracy Tactics 235
Barence writes "The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been accused of heavy-handed tactics that could drive small companies to incriminate themselves. The Microsoft-backed piracy watchdog generates a quarter of its cases by offering employees cash rewards for informing on their own employer. 'It is basically harvesting allegations from disgruntled employees and farming them out to expensive law firms,' one small business owner told PC Pro, who said he was 'nauseated' by the tactics. The BSA then sends out a letter demanding the business owner fill out a software audit, or potentially face court action — even though the BSA has no power to demand such an audit and hasn't pursued a court case in five years. 'It's designed to scare the recipient into thinking that they're obliged to provide certain information when, in fact, it's difficult to see that they are,' said a leading IT lawyer."
Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Why call out "Microsoft-backed" and not others? (Score:5, Insightful)
The Microsoft-backed piracy watchdog generates a quarter of its cases by offering employees cash rewards for informing on their own employer.
I don't like the BSA, and I'm pretty neutral about Microsoft, but what is the point of saying the BSA is "Microsoft-backed"? They're also Adobe-, Apple-, and Dell- backed, among many others.
Why is anyone surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
The BSA then sends out a letter demanding the business owner fill out a software audit, or potentially face court action — even though the BSA has no power to demand such an audit and hasn't pursued a court case in five years. 'It's designed to scare the recipient into thinking that they're obliged to provide certain information when, in fact, it's difficult to see that they are,' said a leading IT lawyer."
We've seen this tactic over and over. Any time someone is trying to make a revenue stream off of anything that can be digitally copied. MPAA, RIAA, BSA. Illegally gather information, pretend you're the police, then extort with the threat of a lawsuit.
It's the system that's broken. That's the bigger problem. The parasites that get fat off the system are a symptom. Fix the system.
Reply letter (Score:5, Insightful)
They were sending out this letter years ago. If I got a letter like that, I would send them the following reply:
Dear Mr./Ms. xxxxxxxx:
I am in receipt of your letter dated yyyymmdd. I have reviewed our software and it is all in compliance with the licensing. I would like to invite you to our office but we are too busy to accommodate visitors. Thank you for your concern.
Sincerely,
nbauman
I'm not sure how they would respond. I expect they would either forget about it, send a threatening but bluffing letter, or send a real threatening letter. I wouldn't let them into my premises unless I thought they could back it up with a court order.
The defense would be, "The only person who installed illegal software was the ratxxx disgruntled employee who rattedxxxxxx informed on us to you."
Of course if I really did have a lot of expensive illegal software, I'd check with my lawyer to figure out the most prudent response.
I wonder how they could legally force you to let them investigate.
They might bring a civil suit and force disclosure. Lawyers are extremely reluctant to commit perjury for their clients in discovery.
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
I have been running a small business since 2001 and have only ever used open source software for just this reason. No restrictive licenses equals no legal fees for software piracy.
I think, however, that Microsft and the BSA should be MORE aggressive in their pursuit of these heinous villains of industry. Maybe it will drive more businesses towards using F/OSS tools and ditch their shackles. Something very Marxian about it ....
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Using linux doesn't protect your business from a disgruntled employee claiming you have stolen software, and the MS-BSA sending you a scary software audit letter "or else we will drag you to a court of law".
BTW these megacorps use government regulations in the same fashion -- to harass small business citizens.
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't really help, what with the whole false accusations from disgruntled employees angle. Replying "no thanks, I use Linux" to them isn't going to do you much good. Replying at all isn't going to do you much good. It shows them that you're listening.
A better approach is to simply ignore the BSA on principle. Threatening letters are cheap, subpoenas are expensive, and they do their business in bulk (meaning they can't actually sic their lawyers on most of their targets).
Also, try not to have disgruntled employees. A big company can't avoid a few bad apples, but smaller businesses can vet new hires better and treat existing employees less like disposable resources. If nothing else, the BSA isn't the only recourse for a pissed off ex employee to screw his former boss. I once worked at a restaurant that got hit with a surprise health inspection shortly after a round of layoffs - the people running the place treated employees and health code rules about equally well and almost got shut down as a result (I would have said good riddance if they had, but it would have meant looking for a new job myself).
Re:Why call out "Microsoft-backed" and not others? (Score:5, Insightful)
The answer is simple for many of them:
* Apple doesn't really care (each copy of OSX/iOS runs on Apple-sold hardware, and Apple is mostly consumer-oriented these days anyway, so...) ...now Adobe, Oracle, and those boys? Oh yeah, they'd get hot and bothered about business copying, but how ubiquitous are these apps in the business world? Photoshop is mostly restricted to marketing and graphic arts departments. Oracle is mostly big enterprise-level stuff, where folks use RFP/RFQs to purchase the things. Nearly every other member of the BSA is similarly a niche player.
* What does Dell have software-wise that would get the BSA all hot and bothered? PERC raid card drivers?
On the other hand, Microsoft has their fingers in (nearly) the entire business world, and most cases (IIRC) are instigated over Microsoft software. So it stands to reason that the biggest beneficiary (and most likely the biggest backer) is, well, Microsoft.
Re:They should be investigated for racketeering (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this -not- racketeering? If the mob were behind this, instead of a "legitimate" business, wouldn't the FBI investigate it?
Ok, an honest answer (Score:5, Insightful)
Since you say you're not trolling I'll take you at your word and give you my best answer.
It's not the "what", it's the "how".
The "what" is someone getting fairly paid for their work. Which they have every right to do. Microsoft, the artists represented by the RIAA, everyone. You produce something of value and ask a price for it, you deserve to be paid. Or not be paid if the price is too high. Let the market decide. But either way you deserve to be in that marketplace and not sidestepped illegally.
The "how" is the problem.
What these organizations are doing is criminal. Pretending to be the police is illegal. Threats are illegal. Extortion is illegal. Racketeering is illegal. And lobbying for our rights to be taken away because they diminish their ability to monitor what everyone - guilty and innocent alike - are up to is wrong. The cure is worse than the disease.
To illustrate my point, I'm pretty sure we both would agree that unregistered guns are used in a lot of violent crime. So do you think it would be reasonable to have a local group of concerned citizens search your house looking for some? Hand you some forms demanding you list what weapons you do have, and tell you that if you have any guns that aren't properly registered, you'll be in trouble? Offer bribes to people you know and offer them cash if they can recall seeing you with a gun?
You see, it's not what they are doing but how they are going about it that is the problem.
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Because Slashdot hates MS (Score:4, Insightful)
MS is hated for good reason: much patent trolling with Android being among the most recent victims, OOXML and file format lock in, Windows Genuine Advantage and Vista's DRM, and the Microsoft Tax to name just a few. And of course the BSA. Their entire attitude is about maintaining a monopoly and controlling and milking their users, not serving them. I really think the only thing keeping MS's empire alive these days is DirectX and PC gaming, and inertia and continuing prejudice against products that are not backed by traditional large corporations. MS has merely displaced IBM among conservative computer users.
Or are you going to try to claim there isn't good reason to hate MS?
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, this kind of scaring will just scare organizations right into the lap of OSS. Keep it, suits! You are doing an outstanding job!
The BSA has been doing this practice since 1988. It doesn't appear to have scared many organizations to OSS.
I am sure that a few have made the switch to OSS, but I imagine that the number would be insignificant compared to the organizations who change their practices to pay for all the software they use. It is still going to be worth it for the BSA and its member companies.
Besides, it is not much of a threat to say that if you get audited then you will stop pirating commercial software and start using open source.
Re:Use Linux (Score:4, Insightful)
Having gone through a nasty lawsuit (utterly unrelated to software licenses), the one thing that I learned, if nothing else, is that you do not leave any such letter unreplied. You should respond, because if it ever does end up in a court of law, you will want to show you did your due diligence. Since licensing agreements with guys like Microsoft and Adobe do have language around giving them or their agents the power to check that you are complying with the agreement, simply tossing such a letter in the trash, even if you don't have a spot of their software on the premises, is inviting trouble. If you're a business, you should have a lawyer anyways, and when it comes to legal, or even legal-sounding threats, that's his department.
I imagine BSA will not pursue very many people if they find they're likely going to have to deal with a lawyer right from the start.
Re:Just more anti-MS (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft should have paid for that audit. How many man hours did the high school spend on it? Why should we, the taxpayers, pay for this? Those workers are our workers, not MS's workers, and we expect their time to be devoted to the work we hired them for. What's next, are we to frisk all the students to make sure they didn't steal any gum from the neighboring convenience store? Maybe anytime so much as a dry erase marker goes missing, we should lock all the students in the building until the thieving criminal scum who stole it fesses up, returns it, and apologizes to the entire school?
I find it very weird you seem to think this audit was okay. You're even grateful at how nice and sweet it was of MS not to penalize you. Wow, just wow. Would you be okay with your employees popping over to a temp agency to do a little extra work on the side while they are on the clock with you? If a former employee turns you in for some petty violation, are you going to admit you screwed up, and "take your medicine" with a smile because you deserved to be punished? Especially if it's not clear you did anything wrong?
Re:Use Linux (Score:5, Insightful)
If I don't have a spot of their software on the premises, I don't give half a shit about how they word their agreements. You want into my company? Why? Oh, you accuse me of copyright infringement? Wait right here while my lawyer finishes that "false accusation" stuff he's writing about. And no, of course you can not come in while you're waiting.
If you use Microsoft Products (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Evasion vs Mitigation (Score:4, Insightful)
It is good to be able to make this statement, but actually make it unless legally required to do so. You would be giving them evidence that they could twist to use against you. Don't give them that (unless advised by a Lawyer).
Re:BSA is a total fuck up, period (Score:4, Insightful)
BSA's way of handling their customers, even potential customers, is totally ridiculous
Customer? Where did you get the idea you are their customer? Autodesk, and Adobe, and Microsoft... THOSE are their customers. You? You are the product they sell.