Representing major software companies, the BSA uses Facebook ads which encourage people to report businesses that use unlicensed software. If one of these reports results in a successful court case, the pirate snitch can look forward to a cash reward.

Below is one of the promoted Facebook posts that has appeared in the timelines of thousands of people, encouraging them to expose software piracy in return for hard cash.

While most responses on Facebook are negative, it appears that the campaign is not without results. In an interview with Radio Prague, the spokesman for the Czech branch of the BSA notes that the informant program has been a great success thus far.

“[The campaign is] very successful. We did it because we wanted to catch big fish. In the past, many informants did not want to disclose who they were, and it was difficult to set up serious communication with them.” the BSA’s Jan Hlaváč says.

“The only way out of this was to offer them something that would motivate them to fully cooperate. That’s why we decided to launch this programme, to reward information that leads not only to identifying illegal software but to bringing the whole case to the end,” he adds.

The cash reward has increased the number of serious tips and in the Czech Republic alone the BSA receives about 30 leads per month. Similar campaigns also run in the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia, where hundreds of tips come in every week.

Some of these tips lead to a follow up investigation where BSA offers the alleged infringer a settlement offer. In the Czech Republic alone there are currently several cases pending, worth roughly $500,000. If a settlement is reached, the informant will get a share, ranging from $5,000 to $200,000.

Earlier this week the BSA released new data (pdf) on piracy levels worldwide, with the rate of unlicensed software decreasing in most western countries.

Between 2011 and 2013 the percentage of unlicensed software installed on computers dropped from 19% to 18% in the United States, and similar downward trends were observed in the UK and elsewhere.

In the Czech Republic piracy rates decreased from 37% to 34%, and according to the BSA this is in part due to the snitch campaign.

“Definitely. The programme has helped a great deal convince companies that the legal risks are not worth it,” Hlaváč says.

Despite this success there is still plenty of work to be done. Globally the percentage of pirate software increased slightly, representing a total value of $62.7 billion, so there’s plenty of bounty left.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Representing major software companies, the BSA is using Facebook ads which encourage people to report businesses that use unlicensed software. If one of these reports results in a successful court case, the pirate snitch can look forward to a cash reward.

Below is one of the promoted Facebook posts that appeared in the timeline of thousands of people on Saint Patrick’s Day. It features a homemade cake in the shape of a pot of gold and sends a clear message to the readers.

“Your pot of gold is right here baby. Report unlicensed software and GET PAID,” the post reads.

The ad is a bit misleading, since those who read the fine-print realize that the pot of gold is as unreachable as any. However, there’s a more worrying issue with the ad.

On closer inspection the photo appears to be lifted from Cakecentral where a user named ‘bethasd’ posted her home-baked creation. Indeed, all signs suggest that the photo for this campaign wasn’t properly licensed, but pirated by the BSA.

Hoping that this was all a misunderstanding, TF contacted the BSA yesterday afternoon, asking for a comment. Thus far the group hasn’t responded to us, but an hour after we sent the inquiry the infringing photo magically disappeared from Facebook.

Luckily we made a copy, and so did Google.

So while the BSA didn’t comment, their attempt to cover up the situation clearly shows that they didn’t have the right to use the image in question. Needless to say, that is more than a touch ironic, especially for an image that’s being used in an anti-piracy campaign.

We encourage ‘bethasd’ to get in contact with the software industry group, and demand both licensing fees and damages for the unauthorized use of her photo. Surely, the BSA will be happy to hand over a pot of gold to her.

For the BSA it’s probably wise to reconsider their marketing strategy on Facebook. Right now the overwhelming majority of the comments are negative, which defeats the purpose of the campaign.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

We all pay taxes and in the United States its the job of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to scoop up the cash from the public and place it in government coffers. It’s currently collecting somewhere north of $2.5 trillion and has a budget in excess of $12 billion.

But despite all the money rolling around and the IRS’s ability to suck up the last dollar from errant payers, it apparently has trouble keeping its computer department in order. According to the findings of a recent audit, the IRS is in quite a mess when it comes to paying for software it’s using and not paying for stuff that it isn’t.

“The proper management of software licenses helps to minimize risks by ensuring that licenses are used in compliance with licensing agreements and cost-effectively deployed, and that software purchasing and maintenance expenses are properly controlled. This audit was initiated to determine whether the IRS is adequately managing software licenses,” the report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration begins.

Thanks to rightsholders’ efforts to toughen up the law, the effective managing of software licenses is a serious business. Running unlicensed software can constitute a breach of federal copyright law, something a government agency such as the IRS should seek to avoid. According to the report, it seems to have failed.

“The IRS is not adequately performing software license management and is not adhering to Federal requirements and recommended industry best practices. The IRS does not have enterprisewide or local policies, procedures, and requirements for software license management,” the report states.

As a result the audit discovered that out of a total 27 products examined, proper licensing documentation could be produced for only three of them.

The Treasury Inspector General also notes that in 2011 the IRS spent $235 million on computer software and that efficient and cost-effective management of those resources is crucial to providing efficient services to taxpayers. But somehow and in addition to the under-licensing, the IRS also managed to license software that they didn’t use.

“Until the IRS implements an effective program to manage software licenses, the IRS is incurring increased risks,” the report adds.

“These risks include: 1) not complying with licensing agreements that could result in embarrassment, legal problems, and financial liability; 2) not using licenses in the most cost-effective manner; and 3) not effectively using licensing data to reduce software purchase and software maintenance costs.”

As many companies around the world will agree, not having the correct licenses for software can indeed become a financial liability. Over the years many have been targeted by the Business Software Alliance who, often acting on tips from employees, pursue companies for audits and then pressure them into settlements. Actions against under-licensed software even take place with the support of armed police.

In Belgium a company was pressured by the BSA due to under-licensed software and was told that its computers would be taken away unless it paid 30,000 euros ($40,000) in settlement fees. The CEO of the company described the event as “a robbery more than a check-up.”

It’s notable that the BSA aren’t barking at the heels of the IRS though, which is a bit of shame. Watching the BSA trying to extract money from the best money-collectors in the United States would be something to behold and probably the only battle in which the public would cheer for the IRS.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Guatemalan insurance company Seguros Universales had a similar visit and has now sued Microsoft accusing the company of extortion-like practices.

“Microsoft appeared with armed Guatemalan law enforcement officers and halted plaintiffs’ business operations. Microsoft then proceeded to extort Plaintiffs by demanding an on-the-spot agreement to pay $70,000 or Microsoft would remove all servers containing ALL data and operational software,” the company claims.

The company says the raid was unwarranted as it has payment receipts for 98% of the software licensing fees. It further accuses Microsoft of operating a racketeering scam in the country, wrongfully targeting many companies for allegedly using pirated software.

Microsoft denies all accusations, but it appears that the practices described in the complaint are not limited to Latin America.

In Belgium a long running lawsuit over a similar matter came to an end last week. In this case local printing company Deckers-Snoeck sued the BSA over an illegitimate raid where Microsoft was also listed as one of the complainants.

In common with the action against the insurance company, the raid came unannounced and the software group was assisted by local law enforcers and several policemen. The company was told that all its computers would be taken away for the alleged use of pirated software, unless it paid 30,000 euros ($40,000) in settlement fees.

“It was a robbery more than a check-up,” Deckers-Snoeck CEO Joris Deckers told De Tijd.

Not paying would mean that Deckers had to shut down the company, so he paid up. However, after the settlement fee was paid he found that not all software was illegitimate as the BSA had claimed. In fact, Microsoft knew that the company had valid licenses but failed to mention this to BSA’s attorney.

The raid on the printing company took place in 2003 and after a legal battle spanning over ten years the Brussels Appeal Court decided last week that BSA’s practices were “deceptive.” The printing company won the case and the Court ruled that it was not obliged to pay any damages to the software group.

According to Tom Heremans, the lawyer of the printing company, the judgment opens the door for other companies that have been pressured into entering similar settlements when not all software was unlicensed.

The BSA says it has since changed its policy and that companies get a warning first before they show up with the police, but apparently this does not yet apply to Latin America.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Last week we discovered that Media Defender actively tried to lure people into downloading blockbuster movies from their fake download site, Miivi.com. As expected, only a few hours after we made the news public the site was taken offline.

Media Defender later told Ars Technica that Miivi was an internal project to test out an online video project, but we know better. We’re convinced that they will try this, or a similar trick again in the near future.

Media Defender is hired by companies like the MPAA, BSA and RIAA to track down people who try to download copyrighted content. They record IP-addresses from BitTorrent trackers and other P2P networks. But they also utilize more proactive methods such as uploading fake .torrent files and setting up fake video download sites.

Luckily most BitTorrent site admins are aware of their shady practices and remove these fake files from their sites before they can do any harm. Pirate Bay admin Brokep offered his help to other BitTorrent admins to help them identifying and removing these fake files, he told TorrentFreak:

“Since the Miivi-incident we can’t keep quiet about them anymore. We want their employers to stop using them so they go bankrupt”

To our friends at Media Defender from all of us here at TorrentFreak… We’re watching you…

Update: Media Defender decided to redirect P2P.net to this article, thanks guys.

Whois Info P2P.net

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.