Oracle maintains what I consider to be the most aggressive audit program of any major software publisher. Its licensing rules can be extremely difficult to understand, and they frequently are not clearly stated in the applicable license agreements. Moreover, Oracle’s License Management Services (LMS) team typically is unforgiving when it comes time to apply those…
It is common practice for software publishers to incorporate by reference various licensing rules and policies to govern the usage of the publishers’ software products. For example, Microsoft’s volume license agreements (such as MPSAs or Enterprise Agreements) incorporate Microsoft’s Product Terms, Online Services Terms and Service Level Agreement for Online Services (among other documents), with…
Oracle’s “Technology” software products (such as its WebLogic and Database programs) are very popular products. Unfortunately, as we have explained numerous times here, Oracle’s license agreements and compliance practices entail numerous pitfalls for unwary users of those products. Being caught in one of those pitfalls can result in substantial, unforeseen expenses following an audit by…
Many companies would like to know whether and to what extent their existing Oracle software product licenses entitle them to use that software in a third-party cloud-hosting environment – such as Amazon Web Services’ (AWS’s) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) environment – and, if so, whether that usage would be subject to different license metrics or…
Of the many complex licensing arrangements Oracle offers to its customers, none seem to generate as much confusion and consternation as the Unlimited License Agreement (“ULA”). For companies that have already determined that they are not going to renew their ULAs with Oracle, the following are a few guidelines to follow to minimize the risks…
If your business model involves hosting applications, websites or data, chances are that Microsoft will require you to obtain and follow a SPLA. Businesses that use Microsoft software for internal use only, or where third-party access is anonymous or unauthenticated, do not need a SPLA. With limited exceptions, Microsoft does require customers engaged in commercial…
Companies react in different ways after receiving a letter from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) or the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) demanding a software audit. Some ignore the letter, assuming it to be some kind of spam or marketing ploy. This is not advisable. Audit demands from the BSA and SIIA generally are…
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective on May 25, 2018. GDPR is the widest sweeping privacy regulation to hit the global market since the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive. GDPR is a regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU residents (EU data subjects). This new legislation introduces…
BSA| The Software Alliance (the “BSA”) is an organization that acts on behalf of software publishers to enforce copyrights. The membership of the organization may undergo changes, which can impact an existing software audit if a member leaves during the course of the audit and the BSA no longer has power of attorney to enforce…
While the over-arching concept underlying a software audit initiated by a publisher like Microsoft or IBM is the same as that in an audit initiated by the BSA | The Software Alliance or the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) – a comparison of software entitlements to software deployments in an effort to identify any…
BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA) is an organization that represents software companies and prosecutes alleged unlicensed use of those member companies’ software products. The BSA generally initially sends a company a letter indicating the company may be out of compliance with applicable software license agreements and demanding that the company investigate and inspect each…
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 that shares information related to software copyright infringement against a company. Many of our clients are facing…
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 & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”). The BSA and SIIA often send a letter to targets…
Software audits initiated by software publishers or representative entities, such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), are often resolved by an out-of-court settlement. The carefully crafted settlement agreements release an audited company from liability, contingent on the following obligations: 1) The accuracy of the submitted audit results, 2) Payment of…
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 such as BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”) or the Software & Industry Information…
Software auditing entities, such as the Business Software Alliance and Software & Information Industry Association, typically set forth a complex set of requirements for software audits that can be confusing, time-consuming, and expensive. Many businesses faced with software audits are eager to resolve these matters, and choose to pay to settle out of court. Often…
The end of the year is a busy time for software publishers and entities like the BSA | The Software Alliance (“BSA”) and the Software & Industry Information Association (“SIIA”) to resolve an audit target’s copyright infringement dispute by entering into settlement agreements. While it may be advantageous for a company to reach a quick…
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 settlement payment and terms. Although there are a number of factors that affect an ultimate resolution, timing of…
The International Data Corporation (“IDC”) reports that more than one-third of all software sold is counterfeit, despite often being marketed as authentic or legitimate by a third-party reseller. In addition to counterfeit software, some vendors sell heavily discounted software that is legitimate, but is sold in violation of its license agreement. The Copyright Act shifts…
A software audit may come in many forms, ranging from an offer for a free Software Asset Management (SAM) engagement to a direct audit from a software publisher or its representative organization, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA) or Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Unfortunately, many companies do not understand the implications of software…
