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Rat out your company for fun and profit
If you're feeling neglected or that you're overdue for a raise or that you are moving into the realm of the disgruntled employee, you might be able to pick up a few bucks (and now maybe a few more bucks) ratting out your company if there is unlicensed software running on various computers.
Just in case you didn't know, there is an organization called the BSA (Business Software Alliance, not the people who make motorcycles) and they enforce software licensing regulations for commercial and industrial users. They pay rewards for whistle blowers who call them in to enforce regulations on software installations. You know, those things that say if you buy one copy of AutoCad or something else like that it should only reside on one computer (unless you have some other agreement). People who buy one copy and install it for multiple users are probably in violation. There are other types of violations too.
Keep in mind that this can apply in ways you might not have thought of. If you retire a computer and have it sitting in your IT bone yard, you should make sure you erase applications because software installed on any computer can be subject to license, even if it is not being used. Apparently in more extreme cases users have been cited for installations on an old hard drive that isn't even in a computer.
BSA has now raised the maximum reward they pay to whistle blowers, which is paid from the fines and settlements received from violators. (There is some discussion that BSA has never actually paid out anything close to their advertised maximums, but that's another issue.)
So, how's your boss been treating you lately?
Rat out your company for fun and profit
July 5, 2007
If you're feeling neglected or that you're overdue for a raise or that you are moving into the realm of the disgruntled employee, you might be able to pick up a few bucks (and now maybe a few more bucks) ratting out your company if there is unlicensed software running on various computers.Just in case you didn't know, there is an organization called the BSA (Business Software Alliance, not the people who make motorcycles) and they enforce software licensing regulations for commercial and industrial users. They pay rewards for whistle blowers who call them in to enforce regulations on software installations. You know, those things that say if you buy one copy of AutoCad or something else like that it should only reside on one computer (unless you have some other agreement). People who buy one copy and install it for multiple users are probably in violation. There are other types of violations too.
Keep in mind that this can apply in ways you might not have thought of. If you retire a computer and have it sitting in your IT bone yard, you should make sure you erase applications because software installed on any computer can be subject to license, even if it is not being used. Apparently in more extreme cases users have been cited for installations on an old hard drive that isn't even in a computer.
BSA has now raised the maximum reward they pay to whistle blowers, which is paid from the fines and settlements received from violators. (There is some discussion that BSA has never actually paid out anything close to their advertised maximums, but that's another issue.)
So, how's your boss been treating you lately?
Posted by Peter Welander on July 5, 2007 | Comments (0)
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