Software piracy: Are you doing it on purpose?

The Federation Against Software Theft has hit out at many UK businesses claiming they are little more than common criminals deliberately committing acts of software theft and piracy.

The organisation claims to have debunked the idea that a lot of software theft and piracy is committed unintentionally - stating that almost half the respondents to its annual survey claimed breach of software licences is likely to be deliberate.

The report also showed that 47 per cent of respondents also believe software piracy is still on the increase.

While some users may claim they merely fail to read or understand the small print of their increasingly complex licences, or bought pirate software 'in good faith' thinking it to be genuine, these excuses are starting to wear thin, according to FAST.

The survey also revealed there has been a significant increase in the importance placed on software piracy at board level within companies - with three-quarters of boards taking the issue seriously, as opposed to little more than half in last year's survey.

Geoff Webster, FAST CEO, said in a statement: "It is good to see that board level executives are increasingly taking software piracy seriously."

However, he said large corporates still don't have a strong enough grasp on their software licensing policies.

"Surprisingly, large corporates are still not getting the message that it is a legal requirement to provide proof of ownership licences."

Webster also noted that disciplinary procedures have lightened in recent times, with sackings down by almost 50 per cent over last year. While board directors realise piracy is a problem, and ultimately must shoulder any blame, they would appear to be being increasingly lenient with staff who break the terms of their software licences.

Webster added that companies must learn to regard software as they would any other asset.

"A company would not drive a fleet of unlicensed vehicles and the same can be said for illegal software in an organisation," he said.

The Business Software Alliance last month said it is still willing to give companies and organisations the benefit of the doubt.

Mark Floisand, the UK chair of the BSA and marketing director of Adobe, claims the BSA will be lenient with anybody who admits to accidental breaches of licence or who buys pirated software in good faith.

Floisand said: "If a company puts its hands up to the BSA and admits there are problems with their licences or with their software then they are effectively protecting themselves from blame and they are protecting themselves from us going after them at a later date."