Different kinds of software are being used by companies for various purposes. You must purchase these or have the proper licenses to be able to legally use them on your company computers. But there are times that you will be unable to assess all of your computers and their applications due to their numbers so having an unlicensed software in one of them is possible.
The BSA or Business Software Alliance is an enforcement agency funded by interested companies to check on companies regarding the legalities of the applications they are using. Receiving a BSA audits letter means that they are starting an investigation regarding your usage of their licensed products. Here are some helpful tips whenever you found that particular letter in your mailbox.
Look for and prepare a legal counsel when you received the audit request from BSA. They have expert lawyers when it comes to copyright laws so be prepared with your own legal experts. Your lawyer should have experiences with complicated cases just like these so he can properly help you out.
Cooperate with them rather than face litigation at civil court but carefully. Do not ignore the letter and hope that they would not follow it up but instead coordinate with them and negotiate for the best settlement possible. Also make sure that the information that would be found during the audits will not be used against your company as an evidence of admission and will be used for settlement only by entering into a contract with their auditor.
Buying licenses after having received the letter will be of no help in resolving the issue. Uninstalling them will not help as well. Shortages in licenses is common in companies, even those who are very careful, so investigate and find out which computer the unlicensed software is installed and when. Your employee who uses that unit may be an informant so investigate accordingly.
Careful preservation and keeping the evidences confidential must be done as to prevent them from being discovered if ever you will be facing litigation. Have an attorney oversee the procedures during the audits and let the IT staffs be supervised by him to prevent unnecessary information from being disclosed. If not prepared properly with the help of your attorney, your IT staff might put more information than necessary in the audit response.
Consider implementing a software asset management or SAM if you do not have it yet. This would help you have updated licenses in the future which will help in keeping the BSA away from your company. You can send this as a compliance plan to them to show that you are serious in making things right.
Send the results after they are done and make sure to indicate a confidentiality clause in order to prevent them from using the data against you in court. Send addition information if request while waiting for their response. If they state something false in their response, respectfully refute and rebut it but do not appear to be contentious by being firm.
Negotiate for the best possible settlement that could be agreed upon. If they request a very expensive settlement, try your best to negotiate for a lesser one. You could state that you could go bankrupt if ever they will let you pay that amount. Then agree on terms of payment and the most important confidentiality clause to prevent the investigation from going public.
The BSA or Business Software Alliance is an enforcement agency funded by interested companies to check on companies regarding the legalities of the applications they are using. Receiving a BSA audits letter means that they are starting an investigation regarding your usage of their licensed products. Here are some helpful tips whenever you found that particular letter in your mailbox.
Look for and prepare a legal counsel when you received the audit request from BSA. They have expert lawyers when it comes to copyright laws so be prepared with your own legal experts. Your lawyer should have experiences with complicated cases just like these so he can properly help you out.
Cooperate with them rather than face litigation at civil court but carefully. Do not ignore the letter and hope that they would not follow it up but instead coordinate with them and negotiate for the best settlement possible. Also make sure that the information that would be found during the audits will not be used against your company as an evidence of admission and will be used for settlement only by entering into a contract with their auditor.
Buying licenses after having received the letter will be of no help in resolving the issue. Uninstalling them will not help as well. Shortages in licenses is common in companies, even those who are very careful, so investigate and find out which computer the unlicensed software is installed and when. Your employee who uses that unit may be an informant so investigate accordingly.
Careful preservation and keeping the evidences confidential must be done as to prevent them from being discovered if ever you will be facing litigation. Have an attorney oversee the procedures during the audits and let the IT staffs be supervised by him to prevent unnecessary information from being disclosed. If not prepared properly with the help of your attorney, your IT staff might put more information than necessary in the audit response.
Consider implementing a software asset management or SAM if you do not have it yet. This would help you have updated licenses in the future which will help in keeping the BSA away from your company. You can send this as a compliance plan to them to show that you are serious in making things right.
Send the results after they are done and make sure to indicate a confidentiality clause in order to prevent them from using the data against you in court. Send addition information if request while waiting for their response. If they state something false in their response, respectfully refute and rebut it but do not appear to be contentious by being firm.
Negotiate for the best possible settlement that could be agreed upon. If they request a very expensive settlement, try your best to negotiate for a lesser one. You could state that you could go bankrupt if ever they will let you pay that amount. Then agree on terms of payment and the most important confidentiality clause to prevent the investigation from going public.
About the Author:
Learn more about BSA audits, right now. You can also get more info about Bank Consulting Services, LLC at http://bankmanagementservices.com/services.html today.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق