Rewards for whistleblowing
The Business Software Alliance has doubled the reward obtained for reporting illegal use of software. Normally the reward is 10% of the value of any software recovered, with a ceiling of £10,000. However until the end of 2004 this was increased to £20,000.
Marti Burgess, a solicitor in our Intellectual Property Department, says: “You should ensure you have a copy of the licence agreement or licence certificate for all software used in your business or other proof that you paid for a licence. It is also wise to have an internet and email policy which sets out amongst other things what staff may or may not do with computers at work. Surprisingly the employer is liable even if an employee brought software from home and loaded it on the employer’s system. This is because companies can only operate through their employees. Thus controlling staff and checking they are following any policy which prohibits them from loading software on to work systems without permission is very important. In addition if they do so as well as breaching copyright or licence restrictions they may also introduce viruses to the company’s computer systems.
The BSA and the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) are industry bodies set up by software owners such as Microsoft to enforce their members’ copyright. They can obtain court orders to raid premises and can confiscate infringing products as well as recover damages and costs. Far too many companies are not strict enough about copyright infringement in the UK and run big risks of such actions occurring. In addition it sends out the wrong message to staff – that a company is prepared to countenance illegality within its organisation. Increasingly the software companies are using the criminal provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to prosecute. Given the BSA rewards that can be had for reporting a breach, it is clearly not wise to take any risks in this area.”
For further information on software licensing contact Marti Burgess on (0117) 929 0451 or e-mail
mburgess@metcalfes.co.uk
This press release summarises the law on issues which we believe may be of interest to your business. It is not a comprehensive review of the subjects and accordingly is published without responsibility for loss occasioned to any person(s) acting or refraining from action as a result of information published