Bsas misleading and unsavory tactics in software audits. Acting either through an internal enforcement attorney or an outside law firm, the bsa will send a letter to the target company requesting a self. If the bsa takes action and a company is found to be noncompliant, the fine is typically two to four times the cost of the software for. Trade groups like the business software alliance often ask companies to conduct self. Attorney steve media has been helping small businesses. Understanding the importance of the audit effective date in a bsa audit matter is the first step to a successful outcome. Failing to fully understand the bsa audit requirements often results in the assessment.
It may be surprising to learn that the business software alliance bsa actually hires law firms to. If they want an audit, the reply to the request should note that you have privileged and proprietary information on your machines, that supervising the audit to ensure the security of this information and compensating for interference with and interruption of the operation of your computer systems will result in damages to your business, and. Responsible minerals initiative the rmi is one of the most utilized and respected resources for companies addressing issues related to the responsible sourcing of minerals in their supply chains. Jul 31, 20 these are the rights that the business software alliances enforcement department is attempting to protect. Business software alliance article about business software. After the self audit materials are submitted by the target of a bsa audit, the business software alliance typically takes three to six months to respond.
Jenny blank, north american enforcement programs manager for the business software alliance bsa, explains the bsas audit process. If your company is facing a software audit, you need experienced counsel to protect your business. The responsible business alliance rba is the worlds largest industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. If the company ignores microsoft s request for a selfaudit or refuses to comply, the issue may be turned over to the business software alliance bsa and the company may be subjected to a formal audit. I work at a small nonprofit that has 18 employees plus a seat computer lab. The requested audit is meant to uncover unauthorized installations of ed software with the intent of recovering damages on behalf of the bsa owner. The business software alliance bsa bullies small companies that cant present the single piece of evidence it considers acceptable as proof of software ownership. Bsa the software alliance s primary enforcement tool is to send a threatening letter indicating that an investigation has commenced and offering to forego litigation if the target company provides a self audit. Business software alliance collects record settlement. But the business software alliance bsa, the software industrys vendorbacked licensingenforcement organization, rarely shows mercy to even.
A selfaudit consists of a listing of all bsa member software running on a companys computer networks, appropriate indicia of ownership for. The bsa is the largest antipiracy group in existence and is hired by nearly every large software company to perform this more invasive audit. How to handle business software alliance audit demand letters. An llc notice is sent to the organization from the bsa before conducting an llc audit. Financial audits are perhaps the most wellknown, as financial audits are conducted for the accounting processes of individuals and businesses every day. Microsoft software audits and sam assessments network. Acting either through an internal enforcement attorney or an outside law firm, the bsa will send a letter to the target company requesting a self audit. We received a form letter from the business software alliance bsa telling us to do a self audit and if we find any unlicensed software to report it during our grace period because if you organizations software is not licensed, it could become to focus of a bsa investigation. The bsas response provides its interpretation of the self.
The business software alliance, also known as bsa, is a trade group established by the microsoft corporation in 1988 and represents a number of the worlds largest software makers and is a. A business software alliance bsa audit is usually initiated with a letter from the bsa stating that an investigation has been started on your business and that you should comply with a self. Is it the business software alliance bsa, or the software information industry association siia these are two of the large software trade groups that routinely audit business. Dod esi software self audit checklist esimil version 1 software self audit checklist an introduction to software self audits a software audit is a defensible comparison of the actual software programs, quantities, and uses within an organization measured against the contractually authorized software programs, quantities, and uses. These audits that are handled by the business software alliance bsa. What to do when you receive a bsa audit letter by ericka chickowski print baseline talked to the experts whove directly dealt with the business software alliance, and weve compiled an 8 step guideline process for handling the aftermath of receiving an intimidating audit letter. If you are not sure where your company stands, your should self audit your business to make sure you are compliant sam, and make sure you can prove, to the. If the bsa takes action and a company is found to be noncompliant, the fine is often two to four times the license cost for each instance.
How to handle business software alliance audit demand. The software alliance, also known as bsa, is a trade group established by microsoft corporation in 1988 and representing a number of the worlds largest software makers and is a member of the international intellectual property alliance. Bsa the software alliances primary enforcement tool is to send a threatening letter indicating that an investigation has commenced and offering to forego litigation if the target company provides a selfaudit. We received a form letter from the business software alliance bsa telling us to do a self.
As we tell all of our clients when your company is involved in a software audit with big software publishers such as ibm, microsoft, adobe, bentley, rosetta stone, apple, autodesk, and their trade organizations bsa, siia you are usually in for a good fight. Represented new york intellectual property law firm in a business software alliance audit. If your company would ignore a self audit request or refuse to comply, the case may be turned over to the business software alliance officially bsa the software alliance. The bsas typical approach is to, at the first instance, demand businessowners to complete a voluntary self audit, where business owners must produce a full index of all bsamember. Bsa licensing audits following on from my post about microsoft licensing options, i thought it prudent to cover what may happen if your licensing isnt in order and you end up getting. We have helped many companies from across the united states save their businesses from bankruptcy. Have you received an audit letter from bsa business. After the selfaudit materials are submitted by the target of a bsa audit, the business software alliance typically takes three to six months to respond.
The usbased business software alliance bsa, an industry group representing the worlds leading computer software developers, ranked lebanon in 39th place worldwide and fifth in the middle east and north africa region mena in terms of piracy rate in 2009, as reported by lebanon this week, the economic publication of the byblos bank group. About the business software alliance bsa audit defense. If youve been issued a llc audit it may be best to consult an attorney. The business software alliance bsa conducts all llc audits. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the business software alliance pursues the self audit approach. What i learned in the last 10 years defending bsa the. Financial audits are perhaps the most wellknown, as financial audits are conducted for the accounting. We already conducted a selfaudit and submitted the results to the bsa. Apr 25, 2014 if you are not sure where your company stands, your should self audit your business to make sure you are compliant sam, and make sure you can prove, to the satisfaction of the bsa or siia that. Business software alliance dirty tricks update network world.
How to handle a business software alliance audit dtech. Our members create innovative software that improves peoples lives and grows the economy. The bsas typical approach is to, at the first instance, demand businessowners to complete a voluntary selfaudit, where business owners must produce a full index of all bsamember software running on that business network, and provide receipts or other proof of licensed ownership of such software. Baseline talked to the experts whove directly dealt with the business software alliance, and weve compiled an 8 step guideline process for handling the aftermath of receiving an intimidating. Baseline talked to the experts whove directly dealt with the business software alliance, and weve compiled an 8 step guideline process for handling the aftermath of receiving an intimidating audit letter lets face it, software asset management sam might be a best practice, but there are still plenty of organizations out there who havent instituted sam due to a lack of resources or.
Targeted companies are contacted by the bsas attorneys, who request the company conduct a self audit and report the results. The bsa is still doing audits, but many vendors, because of their need to drive revenue, have taken on the task of doing audits themselves, stoops said. We are an experienced software audit defense law firm. Jan 06, 2014 currently performing self audit of software installed throughout the company. A business owner or manager might also conduct a complete business audit. Oct 20, 2015 a business software alliance bsa audit is usually initiated with a letter from the bsa stating that an investigation has been started on your business and that you should comply with a self audit to avoid litigation and other legal hassles. The business software alliance is not afraid to audit your companys software assets and make you pay. Among those are a voluntary software licensing self.
Business software alliance is the industry organization that monitors software piracy and may demand that your company undertake a software licensing audit. Tips for handling a microsoft software audit storagecraft. The bsas response provides its interpretation of the self audit materials and applies a formula for its initial settlement proposal. The business software alliance is a private trade organization with absolutely no independent law enforcement authority. What you need to know if you receive a letter from bsa the. Everything you need to know about software audits aberdeen. Businesses sometimes find themselves the recipients of a letter from the business software alliance bsa demanding an audit and accounting of software installed on company. Once a report is received, the business software alliance makes a decision about whether to request a self audit or to immediately file suit. Bsa the software alliances primary enforcement tool is to send a threatening letter indicating that an investigation has commenced and offering to forego litigation if the target company provides a self audit. Learn about bsas work on responsible ai, protecting consumer privacy, strengthening cybersecurity, promoting crossborder data, and helping people train for the future. The type of audit depends on the circumstances and can.
The software alliance audit procedures bsa audit defense. Businesses sometimes find themselves the recipients of a letter from the business software alliance bsa demanding an audit and accounting of software installed on company computers. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the business software alliance pursues the self. If you decide to conduct a selfaudit, it will presumably be performed by a member of the software users it staff. A self audit consists of a listing of all bsa member software running on a companys computer networks, appropriate indicia of. The case settled outofcourt after four months of negotiations which centered on the number of alleged unlicensed installations of software by publishers such as adobe, microsoft and symantec.
Its principal activity is trying to stop infringement of software produced by its members. Royer, cooper, cohen, braunfeld, llc represented the bsa. I recommend that legal counsel is copied on communications, and that the selfaudit is conducted at the instruction of legal counsel. A selfaudit consists of a listing of all bsa member software running on a companys computer networks, appropriate indicia of. Most companies are totally unprepared for software audits initiated by software publishers and their trade associations such as bsa the.
How to respond to a bsa or siia software audit letter. Acting either through an internal enforcement attorney or an outside law firm, bsa will send a letter to the target company requesting a selfaudit. Prepare and send the following documents to the finance department. The bsas response provides its interpretation of the selfaudit materials and applies a formula for its initial settlement proposal. If your business runs software published by microsoft, adobe, autodesk, ibm, oracle you may be at risk for a software audit. Software license audits come in multiple flavors computerworld. The letter, or one to follow, also includes an invitation to conduct an internal self audit and report the audit results to the business software alliance. Baseline shows you how to avoid them altogether in 8 easy steps the fear of a. Business software alliance bsa audits by attorney steve. Bsa the software alliance fullservice business law firm. An audit is an official examination of a business, individual, product, process or system.
The bsa has requested that our company completes a selfaudit. For the last ten years, i have been representing enduser companies nationally in software audit matters initiated by major software publishers including microsoft, adobe, autodesk, ibm and their trade groups. I am an intellectual property attorney in southlake, texas who has handled more than 230 business software alliance audit matters for small to mediumsized companies. Responsible business alliance formerly the electronic. There are several types of software license audits, each with their own risks and variables, experts say. If you do receive an llc audit, do not simply accept the audit terms, process, and results. The bsa usually initiates an investigation after it receives a confidential report of unauthorized software use. Mar 12, 2016 is it the business software alliance bsa, or the software information industry association siia these are two of the large software trade groups that routinely audit business. If they want an audit, the reply to the request should note that you have privileged and proprietary information on your machines, that supervising the audit to ensure the security of this. How to respond to a bsa or siia software audit letter without. Jan 28, 2014 auditing used to be carried out primarily by the vendorfunded business software alliance bsa, but thats changing, according to dawson stoops, a cofounder and vp of sales at express metrix.
Our company already conducted a selfaudit and submitted the. Alliance health compliance provider self audit 5200 w. There are varying degrees of any audit onsite audit, self audit, sam assessment, assisted self audit, business software alliance audit and each carries its own form of labor cost and risk. How to respond to a bsa or siia software audit letter without an. Provider selfaudit submission instructions alliance health. The audit is used to determine if all the software available for use is properly licensed and paid for by the business.
Baseline shows you how to avoid them altogether in 8 easy steps the fear of a business software alliance bsa audit has caused many a sleepless night among senior executives and it professionals over the past two decades. The business software alliance bsa are an international body that. All of our cases begin with somebody who comes to us to report. Is it the business software alliance bsa, or the software information industry association siia these are two of the large software trade groups that routinely audit. We believe this is the ultimate software audit guide for selfrepresented businesses. Learn about bsas work on responsible ai, protecting consumer privacy. You should always consult with a business law firm before agreeing to a third party software license audit which could inadvertently result in the loss of company trade secrets and expose your company to huge legal liability, and to not just succumb to the bsa, siia or software publisher legal demands for a private third party audit. Nov 21, 2014 conduct any selfaudit under the direction of legal counsel. Listen to attorney steve explain this topic on our vondran legal hour podcast. The software alliance, also known as bsa, is a trade group established by microsoft corporation in 1988 and representing a number of the worlds largest software makers and is a member of. In 2008, the business software alliance received more than 2,500 reports of illicit use of software by companies in the u.
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