PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY OF BSA- THE SOFTWARE ALLIANCE

BSA The Software Alliance is a nonprofit trade association created to advance the goals of the software industry and its hardware partners. It is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, BSA is active in more than 80 countries, with dedicated staff in 11 offices around the globe: Brussels, London, Munich, Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, and São Paulo.

BSA’s global mission is to promote a long-term legislative and legal environment in which the industry can prosper and to provide a unified voice for its members around the world. BSA’s programs foster innovation, growth, and a competitive marketplace for commercial software and related technologies. BSA members are optimistic about the future of the industry, but believe that the future does not simply unfold. And, we agree that it is critical for companies to work together to address the key issues that affect innovation.

Public Policy Initiatives

BSA’s public policy program has one simple goal: to create a dynamic, open, and barrier-free international marketplace in which the software and hardware industries can continue to grow and succeed. BSA’s efforts to open markets—and keep them open—have a tangible, quantifiable impact on companies’ bottom lines. Whether it’s eliminating non-tariff barriers to market entry, preventing the imposition of distortionary Internet taxes, or strengthening laws that reduce global software piracy, BSA’s advocacy efforts are reflective of the industry’s priorities to ensure continued economic growth and innovation.

BSA Policy Priorities include:

• Protecting intellectual property (copyright, patents, tech mandates);
• Opening markets to barrier-free trade;
• Data security;
• Increasing opportunities in Brazil, China, India, Russia, and other emerging markets;
• Software innovation and choice;
• E-government; and
• Workforce and education.

BSA focuses its priority activities and resources on those issues that have a tangible, significant impact on the software and hardware industries’ ability to succeed in the marketplace. BSA supports these issues and programs through research, studies, media outreach, and public events designed to call attention to industry priorities and encourage thoughtful dialogue about the future and innovation.

Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs

Software piracy negatively impacts software publishers, creates unfair competition for legitimate companies, damages brands through distribution of substandard products, and exposes customers to a range of IT risks including security breaches and data loss.

BSA acts to protect software providers’ intellectual property rights, enforce software copyright legislation, and encourage compliance. It receives thousands of reports from end users, resellers, law enforcement, members, and affiliate associations detailing the alleged use of unlicensed and illegal software. BSA tackles end-user copyright infringement in the workplace where software has been installed, but the required license has not been purchased. BSA also uses the latest technology to track illegal software downloads and the distribution of pirated software on the Internet through online auction sites.

BSA recognizes that one of the most significant avenues to improving software license compliance is raising awareness of the negative financial and operational impact faced by companies that use unlicensed software. BSA’s worldwide license compliance programs are designed to reach end-user organizations and other entities to educate them on the importance of software asset management and the value of legal software.

Members: Adobe; Apple; Autodesk; AVG; Bentley Systems; CA Technologies; CNC Software-Mastercam; Dell; IBM; Intel; Intuit; LMS; McAffee; Microsoft; Minitab; Oracle; PTC; Rosetta Stone; Siemens PLM Software Inc., Symantec; Tekla; The MathWorks.