Business Software Alliance Announces $200,000 Settlement With Software Company

Georgia Company to Contribute $200,000 to
Support Watchdog Group

September 1, 1998 - Washington, D.C. - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced today that SynQuest - a software company headquartered in Norcross, GA - has agreed to contribute $200,000 to support the work of the BSA and its campaign to raise awareness of the need to assure proper use of licensed software. A portion of this fund will be earmarked for an advertising campaign supporting the BSA.

This agreement culminated a cooperative effort between the BSA and SynQuest to assess SynQuest's compliance with its copyright requirements. An audit was conducted by SynQuest at the request of the BSA after the BSA received a report on its anti-piracy hotline, 1-888 NO PIRACY. The audit disclosed that there were more installations of certain office software programs published by Adobe, Lotus, Microsoft and Symantec than could be properly documented. In addition to the payment, SynQuest has agreed to destroy all software programs for which it cannot locate licenses and to strengthen its own internal software
management and copyright compliance programs.

"BSA commends SynQuest for its responsible handling of this matter," stated Bob Kruger, vice president of enforcement for the BSA. "Once the problem was brought to the attention of the company's management, SynQuest moved swiftly to address the situation. I regret to say that many businesses across the country
have unlicensed software installed on their computers and face legal liability, threats to the integrity of their computer systems and other risks. No segment of the software-using community - law firms, accountants, even software companies like SynQuest - is immune to this problem."

"We are glad to work with the BSA and support its campaign to raise awareness of the importance of careful checking of the use of all licensed software, including our own," said Mark Simcoe, SynQuest's Chief Financial Officer. "While we deny any violation of the various license agreements, we want to ensure that as
a software company we are in full compliance with copyright requirements and have initiated forceful steps to strengthen policies and procedures in our software management system."

BSA continually educates corporate decision-makers about the risks of software piracy. Through advertising, media outreach and direct mail, BSA stresses the importance of adequate software management in the workplace. BSA has recently released its newest version of the "Guide to Software
Management" which can be ordered by calling its toll free anti-piracy hotline, 1-888 NO PIRACY.

Since 1988, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been the voice of the world's leading software developers before governments and with consumers in the international marketplace. Its members represent the fastest growing industry in the world. BSA educates computer users on software copyrights; advocates public policy that fosters innovation and expands trade opportunities; and fights software piracy. BSA worldwide members include Adobe, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Lotus Development, Microsoft, Novell and Symantec.