Here’s a press release masquerading as a news story, written by the UK branch of the BSA. The BSA has been noticeably quiet lately. Perhaps the BSA has been staying out of the spotlight because the RIAA (music) and the MPAA (movies) have been in the spotlight by suing/insulting their customers and filing DMCA lawsuits.
Here are some of the more amusing quotes from the so-called story:
“A very large UK organisation … felt that it used ‘so much’ software, and had purchased ‘so much’ in the previous years, that it was unreasonable for the BSA to be troubling them about the few odd copies for which they had no licenses.”
Maybe if software didn’t cost “so much,” users would buy more copies. (And yes, I said “buy copies,” not “buy licenses.”)
“When digging into the reasons for non-compliance at one firm, its UK country chief said: ‘Well, we’re a global company. Clearly we can’t be compliant at all of our sites.'”
Yeah, I’m sure that’s a direct quote.
“Those that sell software, from large resellers to small online retailers, also have a role to play and businesses are often duped into buying illegal software.”
Excuse me, pink tofu? Do you know any small business that has been “duped” into buying illegal software?
The next one is my favorite.
“We recently had an email from an irresponsible software reseller who wrote: ‘I’m tired of dodging the BSA and other law enforcement agencies. I have been selling hooky software for quite some time, and it’s time for me to come clean.'”
Yeah, I’ll bet his domain name was IrresponsibleSoftwareReseller.com. And here’s a news flash for you. The BSA is not a law enforcement agency, as this “story” would have you believe. But they are a well-funded entity. Maybe the BSA is trying out it new strategy in the UK. It’s “amnesty” program was a flop in the US, but stay tuned.
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