Watchdog Group to Offer Month-long Amnesty Campaign in Austin

Follow the BSA 30-day Truce in the following locations: Phoenix Cincinnati Baltimore

Washington, DC (17 October 2000) -- Austin businesses, take note! Starting November 1, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) will launch its Software Truce campaign, a 30-day opportunity for local Austin businesses to review their software programs and acquire the licenses they need to get legal without facing penalties for past infringement imposed by BSA.

Throughout November, Austin area businesses will receive information from the BSA on the Truce campaign and how to participate. Companies that take part in the campaign and take the necessary steps to become fully licensed will be excused from penalties for software violations occurring prior to November 1, 2000*.

Each year BSA receives hundreds of thousands of software piracy reports, often from current or former employees. Based on these reports, BSA begins investigations of companies located throughout the country, often resulting in settlements totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over the past seven years, BSA has collected approximately $50 million in penalties from companies caught with unlicensed software.

"The BSA is presenting a golden opportunity to companies unsure about their software usage to get legal – risk-free," said Bob Kruger, vice president enforcement BSA. "By coming forward during the Truce, businesses can avoid the serious penalties for software violations, penalties that usually end up costing companies much more than if they had purchased legal software in the first place."

A recent study cited that Texas had a piracy rate of 26% during 1999 for business software. When evaluating the impact to the economy of Texas, software piracy of all packaged software resulted in a state sales tax loss of approximately $105 million.

The BSA will run its Software Truce simultaneously in four cities – Baltimore, Austin, Cincinnati, and Phoenix. An extensive radio advertising and direct mail campaign will be launched concurrently in each city to raise awareness of BSA and Truce. BSA will contact over 150,000 businesses through the Truce campaign.

This is the second Software Truce offered by BSA in the past four months. In late summer, the BSA ran the first-ever U.S. Truce in Tampa, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and San Diego with great success. The campaign generated over 1,000 calls to the Truce hotline and approximately 16,000 hits on the Truce website.

Businesses trying to determine whether their organization is using illegal software can download the free BSA Software Audit tool at www.bsatruce.com or call the special Truce hotline at 1-877-536-4BSA for additional information.

Since 1988, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been the voice of the world’s leading software developers before governments and with consumers in the international marketplace. Its members represent the fastest growing industry in the world. BSA educates computer users on software copyright; advocates public policy that fosters innovation and expands trade opportunities; and fights software piracy. BSA worldwide members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Corel Corporation, Macromedia, Microsoft, Network Associates and Symantec. BSA websites: www.bsa.org; www.nopiracy.com.

* This excludes any organizations already informed of a BSA investigation. See www.bsatruce.com for full rules.

For Additional Information:

Sandy Nelson sandy.nelson@dittus.com 202.298.9055		Business Software Alliance software@bsa.org Tel: 1.202.872.5500 Fax: 1.202.872.5501 1150 18th St. NW, Ste 700 Washington, D.C. 20036
Marcy Stansbury marcy.stansbury@dittus.com