Statement from Scott & Scott, LLP Regarding The Business Software Alliance's Report on Informant-Related Software Audit Leads.

DALLAS -- The Business Software Alliance (BSA) recently announced the Top 10 States that have generated software piracy leads. According to the BSA, these States are Texas, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Florida and New York, which have contributed to the payment of over $6 million in reward money.

Scott & Scott seeks to point out that there is another side to the software piracy discussion: the side that looks at the interests of the millions of honest businesses that routinely purchase legitimate software for the majority of the products that are installed on their networks. Many of these companies simply do not have the resources -- both financial and human -- to interpret software license agreements and establish very costly compliance initiatives, largely because of the unnecessary complexities of the license agreements created by the software industry.

Software license compliance can cost large enterprises millions of dollars; smaller enterprises often face even greater costs as a percentage of revenue. Complying with the complex and ever-changing license agreements that publishers mandate requires enormous human and financial resources and creates an onerous "compliance tax" that companies are forced to endure in order to avoid fines.

Further, this tax diverts resources to compliance management and away from potential business development, investments, R&D and innovation opportunities across all industries.

Scott & Scott believes that the Business Software Alliance should do more to lessen the compliance burden on American businesses, as they seek to adhere to complex license agreements and the challenging asset reconciliation process. In doing so, companies will have the resources necessary to invest in revenue generating initiatives, as well as foster innovation that drives their businesses -- and the U.S. economy.

Editor's Note: Robert Scott is an expert in software license compliance and conducts regular seminars entitled, "Successfully Defending Software Audits" and "Software Asset Management & The Law." Robert graduated summa cum laude from Austin College in Sherman, Texas with a B.A. in economics. He earned his law degree from Hofstra University School of Law in New York. Robert is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, the Managed Services Providers Alliance, the IT Compliance Institute, and the Science and Technology Section of the American Bar Association.

Scott & Scott (www.scottandscottllp.com and www.bsadefense.com) is a leading law and technology services firm dedicated to helping senior executives assess and reduce the legal, financial, and regulatory risks associated with software compliance. Scott & Scott's legal and technology professionals provide software audit defense and software compliance solutions, all protected by attorney-client and work-product privileges.