Intellectual Property Law

Narc on Your Boss, Get Cool Cash

By David Kravets

It’s that time of year again, when bankers can expect those five- and six-figure bonuses.

But if you didn’t become rich off the financial bailout, here’s another way to take advantage of The Man — this man being your boss, of course.

Just rat him/her out to the Business Software Alliance for software piracy violations. Until the end of the year, tipsters can receive about $32,000 — double the standard payout, under the latest reincarnation of the so-called “Nail your boss” campaign.

The caveat is that this high-priced program is limited to the London area, although BSA operators are standing by to field tips across the globe. Rewards for verifiable malfeasance vary depending on country, alliance spokesman Matthew Clark said in a telephone interview.

“The BSA has been doing things like this to encourage people to report for years,” he said.

The London plan mirrors a successful BSA campaign in the United States in 1997, when the alliance adopted the “Nail your boss” program that included a toll-free “anti-piracy hotline.”

The BSA is an alliance of about 80 companies ? including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. It is the tech industry counterpart to the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Alyna Cope, spokeswoman for the BSA in England, told British media that workers might be more willing to fink on their bosses during these tough economic times as the holiday season approaches.

The BSA, based in Washington, D.C., three months ago softened its anti-piracy message. For the first time, it adopted humor instead of scare tactics to get out its anti-piracy message.

The BSA claims 41 percent of all software worldwide is pirated.

Hat Tip: ZeroPaid

See Also:

• BSA Softens Anti-Piracy Message
• Report: 41 Percent of Personal Computing Software Is Pirated
• Content Industry Applauds Pirate Bay Guilty Verdicts
• War on File Sharer Following War on Terror
• Judge Sides With RIAA in ‘Sham’ Litigation Class Action

Full post as published by Threat Level on December 01, 2009 (boomark / email).