What is the BSA’s Definition of Software Piracy?
“Software piracy” is a favorite catch-phrase used by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the software companies it represents. Most people understand software piracy to involve the intentional copying and, in many cases, distribution of copyrighted software to third parties without permission of the copyright owner. Understandably, the term has extremely negative connotations, and most businesses will go to great lengths to avoid behavior that could reasonably be branded as “piracy.” Unfortunately, the BSA’s definition of software piracy is considerably more broad than the common understanding and may be confusing to companies audited by the BSA who have never knowingly copied unlicensed software. During a BSA-initiated software audit, the BSA requires the businesses it targets to provide dated proofs of purchase for each software product installed on their computers. There are specific types of documentation the BSA accepts, and it usually rejects purchases from E-bay, Amazon, or
