That argument works with the lottery where the money vs chances work against you so you make a net loss, but in the case of piracy where the money saved by not paying vs the chances of getting caught are the other way around... well, if you're one of the unlucky few then you might pay a few thousand, but you'll almost certainly actually save a few thousand

not that i support piracy of course, the copy of windows i am using right now is fully licensed (only because i'm currently running the windows 7 beta given away for free :P), and most of my systems run fully licensed copies of linux (again, because it's free :P)

surely if they want to stop piracy then all they have to do is give it away for free? seems a much more polite way to do it than threatening old grannies and corpses etc, and probably much more effective

Well simply put a blanket ban on commercial software from those BSA vendors.

If there's a licensing problem with the software, the employee should be bringing it to the attention of management, NOT making a fast buck by telling BSA. Who the f*** needs a supplier trying to induce employees to act against their employers!?

You don't need that headache that using Microsoft and Adobe software brings, so just blanket ban it's use and make it a sacking offence to install any BSA license product.

The west seems to be getting very into the old why spy on the masses dierctly when we can bribe them into doing it themselves, makes you very scared of other people. Who is a friend and who is working for the corporate or state overlords?

Grass up a mate, get an increase in food rations loyal worker!

USE OPEN SOURCE and LINUX INSTEAD.

No such thing as pirating when there is no EULA

“When business is down and IT budgets are stretched thin, some managers may be tempted to cut corners, leading to increased use of unlicensed software in their businesses,”

Maybe find some free alternatives to the stuff offered by BSA members? There are few programs I *need* that are under restrictive licenses, and I already have legitimate copies, so why worry? As my OS needs change, I can use VM to run old, but acceptable, software in a protected system with little need to 'upgrade' it to costly and more restrictive licensed versions.

Managers should be looking seriously at what they really *need* and planning from there, the road to a legal and really cost-effective business.

Is not the media, not the certificate of authority. Heck, not even the upgrade license.

The ORIGINAL TICKET SALE is all they'll accept. And, if you're a business, EACH AND EVERY upgrade license. Miss one of them out and ALL your software is illegal.

As far as the BSA is concerned.

"All I want now is a decent open source replacement for Outlook that runs on Linux and Windows."

Try Evolution.

also, to be on the safe side in these gloomy times, avoid any software offered by BSA members (as much as possible). List, quite ironically, available through the BSA online tattleform.

'Nuff said. Google, unless you don't already know the story.

"The group also reckoned that the current economic downturn could lead to an increase in software piracy among businesses in these cash-strapped times."

By the same token, these aren't good economic times for dropping your employer into the brown stuff by shopping him.

Mine's the one with the P45 and redundancy cheque in the pocket.

«“When business is down and IT budgets are stretched thin, some managers may be tempted to cut corners, leading to increased use of unlicensed software in their businesses,” said the group’s veep of anti-piracy and general counsel Neil McBride.“This is a terrible mistake because in the long run, companies stand to lose more money from being caught than they saved by installing unauthorised copies of software.”»

Translates to: "we need cash. We're coming for YOU *now*"

BSA guide to a successful software biz:

1- covertly encourage piracy to spread your crap. send licenses. Ca$h.

2- go for the "pirates", sue them to hell. Ca$h.

3a- in tough times, go for your legit customers, find a few which lost one paper, sue the hell out of them . Ca$h.

3b- concurrently to 3a - , find a state where the courts are clueless and/or bought (e. g. third-world areas like Texas). Find a few legit customers that fell in the pits of the weasely licences (i.e. you don't *own* this copy of the soft, you are only allowed to use it on one precise computer belonging to one precise department in your company.). Sue the hell out of them in the previously identified clueless area. Ca$h.

3c - Get the CEO to leave, that should keep El Reg hacks busy ;-) .

4a- When times get even tougher (the EPS might be lower than Wall Street expectations. Doom. God forbit, you might even have to lower the overall yearly bonuses to higher management by a few billion): lay off staff, repeat steps 3a b and c /ad nauseam/, get some taxmoney (blackmail and bribes will help). Ca$h, ca$h ca$h, ca$h and MAJOR CA$H. Also, fire the CEO (same effect as 3c, but stronger).

4b- try and find a scapegoat (P2P is hot right now), try and milk the cow* as much as possible.

5- (to be read by higher management people only) You're done. your debts overcome your assets so much that no-one wants to buy you: if you reach this stage, fire everyone, get as much as you can from your shares, and run. FAST.

Have your say: When will MS (arguably the BSA's most influent member) reach stage 5?

*scapecow? Anyone? Really? I still retain the copyright, use at your own risks.

Obviously this comment may not cover all instances but the situation seems fairly clear: if a company uses commercial software without paying for it then they are not doing anyone any favours, the software company, their workforce (people like you maybe?), or your business. They should either cough up or install different software. If their business model (profit) is based on using software illegally then I think they should think again.

We are lucky that we generally have alternatives.