Litigation Risks of Ignoring Software Audits

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Software audits are a means for software publishers to enforce and regulate use of their copyrighted software, and publishers regularly outsource enforcement of their copyrights to law firms or entities such as the BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”) or Software &......

Disguised Software Audit Clauses

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Agreements often contain clauses allowing the parties to review books and records, “Books and Records” clauses. These are often boilerplate clauses included in agreements without much consideration from the contracting parties. When a Books and Records clause is used......

Costly Software Audit Mistakes

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) are organizations that represent software publishers seeking to enforce the copyrights in the products they publish.  In furtherance of this goal, these entities routinely send ......

Not All Software Audits Are Protected By Privilege

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Companies faced with a demand for a software audit from a software publisher or an entity such as the Business Software Alliance or Software & Information Industry Association are increasingly turning to their own internal IT departments or hiring technology consulta......

Navigating Microsoft License Verification Audits

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Microsoft, like other software publishers, routinely audits customers to help ensure that it is protecting the value of its intellectual property.  Microsoft verifies its customers’ compliance using several methods. Contact Us Microsoft License Verification ......

How to respond to a VMware Audit

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Managing a complex IT environment very challenging, even before becoming involved in an external software audit from a software publisher or a third-party auditing entity. Businesses facing VMWare audits in particular should be prepared to take a number of steps to ensure ......

Software Audits: Proving Ownership of Software Licenses

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Often the single most arduous and time-consuming task facing companies who are the subject of software audits is collecting entitlement information to prove ownership of licenses for software installed on its networks. Once a company receives an official audit letter from ......

Time Settlement Right for Software Audits

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
There is a growing trend for software publishers to keep software audits in-house and avoid using external organizations to pursue copyright infringement claims. Often, the compliance teams at the software publishers seek payment for software non-compliance through contr......

Top Tips for Post-Audit Software Remediation

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Responding to a software audit can be an arduous, expensive, and time-consuming process for a company. The remediation process to close compliance gaps may vary slightly depending on whether the audit is initiated the software publisher itself or outsourced to an agency ......

BSA Informants: Disgruntled Employees

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
How to Protect Your Company against Copyright Infringement Claims by Disgruntled Employees Seeking a Reward In an effort to enforce the copyrights of its members, Business | The Software Alliance (“BSA”) offers the potential for monetary rewards to any informant tha......

Burden of Proof in Copyright Infringement Matters

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
In a civil copyright infringement claim, many users of copyrighted material are surprised to learn that once the copyright owner has demonstrated that it owns a copyright in the work, the burden shifts to the copyright user to demonstrate that it had the right to use the......

Autodesk Licensing Implications of Working from Home

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
The Covid-19 pandemic shifted entire non-essential industries to a remote workforce, leaving companies scrambling to set up employees to work from home. A study in June 2020 by Pricewaterhouse Coopers determined that nearly 70% of office workers were working remotely. Wh......

Timing is Key for Software Audit Settlements

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
More than 90 percent of software audits initiated by software publishers or representative entities, such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), are settled out of court after negotiating a final settle......

Avoid Overpaying for Software Settlements

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Most software audits initiated by the software publisher or a third party entity authorized to pursue copyright infringement claims on behalf of the software publishers, such as the BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”) or the Software & Industry Information Associa......

Understanding the Scope of a Software Audit

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Software publishers regularly audit their customers to help ensure that the customers are properly licensing their software. Some software publishers conduct audits directly, but many choose to audit through companies such as the BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”), or ......

Top Three Tips to Ensure Software Compliance

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Companies facing copyright infringement claims from software publishers or their representatives have few options to navigate an audit and resolve the matter out of court. The costly nature of a software audit has prompted companies to take pre-emptive steps to avoid exp......

Autodesk Audits: Managing Independent Contractors

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Autodesk, Inc. uses a variety of resources to identify potential audit targets. Many of these targets are small architecture or engineering firms that employ independent contractors in lieu of full time employees as CAD operators. A typical Autodesk software audit let......

How to Resolve an SIIA Audit Followed by a BSA Audit

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
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 &a......

Treat Audit Demands Like A Litigation Hold Letter

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
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 se......

Autodesk Targets Architects In Software Audits

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Autodesk routinely conducts software audits to determine whether businesses have unlicensed copies of its software installed on their computers. Architecture firms typically represent a significant portion of the targets of such audits – many such firms are heavily relia......

Top Tips for Responding to an Autodesk Audit

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
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 lawsu......

Licensing Old Microsoft Products

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Businesses seeking to license older versions of Microsoft products may encounter challenges acquiring valid licenses.  This is a particular concern for some companies that utilize Microsoft products as the basis for their IT infrastructure and that want to avoid a costly mi......

Microsoft Licensing Considerations

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Generally when purchasing new software online, or upgrading existing software, a box pops up on the computer that says “Agree to Terms”.  Most people simply check the appropriate box and click next without reading the fine print.  This can be troublesome when the Busin......

Software Audits: Surviving Settlement

Keli Johnson Swan  Comments (0)
Software auditing entities, such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), initiate software audits of businesses that more often than not result in a settlement agreed to and negotiated by both parties. I......