Failure to adhere to the terms of software licenses can have serious financial implications. In addition to potential breach of contract claims, software publishers can pursue claims of Copyright infringement. Companies are often financially crippled due to the unexpected penalties and defense costs associated with responding to an audit or defending against allegations of infringement. These companies also face negative publicity and expend significant resources to respond to the auditors or publishers. Every company has an obligation to avoid potential material off-balance-sheet liabilities and regularly evaluate compliance with software licenses. In most businesses, this means adopting new corporate policies, placing tighter restrictions on desktop users, and instituting best practices for documenting software purchases. If you want to avoid the cost and risk of an unsuccessful audit, the time to achieve compliance is now. The lawyers at Scott & Scott, LLP have extensive experience fighting the BSA. Leverage that experience to ensure that your business does not become the next Business Software Alliance target.
BSA Audit FAQ
Q. What is the first step in evaluating compliance?
A. Gathering deployment information and entitlement records to evaluate whether a company can prove that it has licenses for all the software installed on its computers.
Q. Do I need a dedicated resource such as a software asset manager to conduct the audit?
A. No, but many IT professionals who are inexperienced find the workload overwhelming.
Q. What is the most important ingredient to a successful software compliance assessment?
A. Executive sponsorship. If there are no leaders who support the project fully, it will be difficult for the project to succeed.
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