Farm Cooperative Settles With Software Watchdog

BSA Collects $125,000 From CROPP Cooperative

Press Release from www.BSA.org

Washington, D.C., (Tuesday, November 15) -- The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a watchdog group representing the nation’s leading software manufacturers, today announced that Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools, d/b/a CROPP Cooperative (www.croppcooperative.com), headquartered in LaFarge, WI, paid BSA $125,000 to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft software programs on its computers. In addition to making its payment, CROPP Cooperative agreed to delete any unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software and strengthen its software management practices.

Most investigations begin with a call to BSA’s hotline, 1-888-NO PIRACY, or with a report to BSA’s Online Reporting Form, at www.bsa.org. In this case, BSA’s attorneys contacted CROPP Cooperative, which cooperated with BSA and voluntarily conducted a self-audit.

“Even well-managed companies can have software management problems,” said Jenny Blank, director of enforcement for BSA. “All companies should implement procedures and policies to maintain software compliance and demonstrate to their employees the importance of respecting licensing requirements.”

CROPP Cooperative understands the importance of protecting intellectual property,” said Michael Bedessem, Chief Financial Officer. “We identified the areas where we could improve our compliance process and implemented a comprehensive software management program."

Businesses trying to determine whether their organizations are using unlicensed software can download the free software audit tools at www.bsaaudit.com.

An independent study* shows that 21 percent of software in the United States is unlicensed. Last year, the U.S. lost $6.6 billion as a result of software piracy.

* “Global Software Piracy Study,” conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance, May 2005