"We realise that most companies try and operate legally, but the failure to devote time, resources and budget all contribute to ineffective software asset management," said Siobhan Carroll, Regional Manager for Northern Europe, BSA. "However, neither this, nor the emergence of new business compliance regulations justify pushing software licensing down the compliance agenda."
In the UK, according to a 2003 Global Piracy Study conducted by IDC, there is a software piracy rate of 29%. This represents lost sales for national and international software publishers based in the UK of around $1.6 billion.
Speaking to OUT-LAW News in July last year, Duncan Brown, the IDC's UK Consulting Director, said that they believe only 5% of the software piracy problem is with the home user – who may be downloading illegal software using P2P or installing from counterfeit discs.
The remaining 95% is business piracy, said Brown, and, at least within the UK and Western Europe, the biggest problem seems to be license-creep. This typically happens when software is installed by a company on more PCs than it has purchased licenses for.
"This is not about accidental breaches in software compliance," said Graham Arthur, legal advisor to the BSA. "Many of the companies that settled with the BSA last year had conducted software audits and knew they were under licensed, but didn't go the next step and legalise."
"As long as the piracy problem exists, enforcement will continue to be one of our lines of defence," added Carroll. "We would however prefer to work with companies to help them manage their software assets, which is why most of our funds are spent on educational activities."
Settlement funds received by the BSA are reinvested back into BSA programmes to raise awareness of the risks associated with illegal software and the benefits of an effective software asset management policy.
Such programmes include the BSA's Annual Software Audit Return campaign and the Just Ask SAM web site – an on-line source of help and support for companies concerned about software licensing.