She admits she often walked the halls of her high school carrying a box of punch cards used for a room-sized computer that all the nerds worshipped.

Today Jenny Blank, a lawyer and director of enforcement for the Business Software Alliance, describes herself in terms that hint of an amused self-deprecation.

"I was a total geek, bookworm, playing with computers whenever I got the chance," she said.

No longer a technological neophyte, Blank and the industry-sponsored watchdog group she works for in Washington, D.C., are championing the rights of software makers against piracy of their products and programs by businesses.

The industry loses $6.5 billion annually in the United States alone due to software piracy, she said. That means that corporations, along with small mom-and-pop shops, download software programs onto their business computers that they haven’t paid the manufacturer for. Or they buy one licensed copy and repeatedly download it illegally onto a variety of computers.

"Around the world we’re looking at billions of dollars lost each year to piracy," she said. "Software companies lose the cost of the pirated software had it been sold by them. There’s also a loss of taxes and the innovation that software companies lose because they don’t have the revenue to further invest."

A fine line

Last year the organization collected more than $13 million in settlements from U.S. companies using pirated software. Fines are reinvested in BSA’s educational programs and operating budget.

BSA discovers possible software piracy most often through tips, Blank said. Investigations kick off through calls to the group’s hotline 1-888-NO PIRAC(Y), or by filing a report to BSA’s Web site at WWW.bsa.org.

Once BSA’s attorneys contact companies, they usually cooperate and conduct self-audits, Blank said.

More and more, businesses wind up paying the price of stolen intellectual property rights, Blank said. Already this year, BSA settled claims with two Connecticut companies for a total of $355,022.

Enfield-based A.W. Hastings, a supplier for the building materials industry, and Bridgewater Associates, an investment manager headquartered in Westport, paid for having unlicensed software on office computers, Blank said.

A.W. Hastings forked over $80,022 for unlicensed Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft software programs, and Bridgewater Associates paid out $275,000 for unlicensed Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software, Blank said.

"It’s a substantial sum of money," said Jonathan D. Hoyt, treasurer of A.W. Hastings.

He declined to discuss the matter further and would not comment on how the software appeared on the company’s computers.

"We have come to a resolution and we want to move on and get this behind us," he said.

Calls to Bridgewater Associates were not returned.

Hurting business

Brian Summers, 40, vice president of CNC Software Inc. of Tolland, said software piracy affects his company, which employs 90 people.

"When people don’t pay, we don’t get revenue back so we can put further development back into the company," he said.

"Part of the problem is that piracy is not really looked upon as stealing, and until that changes, we will still be facing a widespread problem."

CNC’s main software product package sells for $12,000, Summers said. Its software is used by the manufacturing industry for milling machines and lathes, and some software is used by the woodworking industry to drive woodcutting machines.

"Software is licensed," Summers said. "You’re just given the right to use it. You don’t have ownership like a car. That’s a big misconception."

Software is sold with conditions, and many people do not read the fine print, he said.

"Whether you read the conditions or not you are still obligated to abide by the agreement," Summers said. "Read what your limitations are."

Software developers are frustrated, he said, because the crime of software piracy isn’t viewed even by law enforcement as stealing.

"If someone stole a car, the police would hunt them down," Summers said. "If someone steals software, it is more of a silent crime."

Keeping track

Keith Kupferschmid, vice president of intellectual property, policy and enforcement for the Software & Information Industry Association in Washington, D.C., said corporate end users and other organizations have an obligation to keep track of what software they’re using and to prevent piracy.

The group has had an anti-piracy program for 20 years, and last year imposed more than $2 million in fines for pirated software. The SIIA doesn’t release the names of the companies it pursues.

"Larger companies understand they need to manage their software assets, but it is really the small- to mid-sized companies where (we find problems)," he said.

Businesses use pirated software, Kupferschmid said, because of limited funds and indifference.

"And sometimes they don’t think they’re going to get caught," he said. "More often than not, they know what they’re doing. IT people are in fear of losing their jobs, but ultimately, the company is responsible."

Kupferschmid said pirated software is often sold on the Internet and businesses may initially not realize it is stolen.

"You may think you’re buying something legitimate, but if it is being sold at an unreasonable price or it doesn’t come with manuals, any logical person clearly should be suspicious," he said.