BSA Reaches Settlement Agreement with
Budget Rent a Car

June 29, 1998 - Washington, D.C. - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announced that Budget Rent a Car has paid the watchdog group $403,500 to settle claims that the company had unlicensed software installed on its computers. This is the second time in less than one year that BSA has announced a $400,000 settlement.

A report called in to the BSA's hotline 888-NO-PIRACY led to an investigation of three of the company's corporate offices -- in Carrollton, TX, Lisle, IL and Orlando, FL. Budget Rent a Car cooperated fully and conducted a voluntary audit of its computers, which revealed more copies of software programs than it had licenses to support. In addition to making the settlement payment, Budget Rent a Car also agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software programs, purchase any additional software necessary to be in compliance with copyright laws, and strengthen its existing software management policies.

"This case clearly illustrates that no company is immune to unlicensed software in the workplace," said Bob Kruger, BSA Vice President of Enforcement. "The problem extends from small, local companies all the way up to international corporations with household names. All companies must put software copyright compliance on their checklist of important issues to address -- right alongside occupational safety, equal employment and environmental requirements. BSA applauds Budget Rent a Car's management for taking immediate, positive steps to correct the situation and prevent any future incidents of infringement," added Kruger .

"We have used this opportunity to strengthen our policies and procedures surrounding software license documentation," said John Costanza, Vice President, Information Technology of Budget Rent a Car Corporation. "Much of this problem was attributable to inadequate document retention practices, which we have corrected. We are confident we have the processes in place that will ensure we maintain the appropriate software license documentation going forward," added Costanza.

BSA, the software watchdog group that investigates companies suspected of software piracy, has collected more than $30 million dollars over the past five years from companies in the U.S. that have been caught with copied software. Most of BSA's investigations begin with a call its hotline, 1-888-NO-PIRACY, from employees and former employees who want to report software piracy.

Software piracy is an enormous drain on the global economy according to the "1997 Global Software Piracy Report" released last week .The report estimates worldwide losses to software piracy of $11.4 billion in 1997, up from $11.2 billion in 1996. According to the report, four out of every ten software applications worldwide were stolen in 1997. The U.S. had the highest total dollar losses to software piracy at $2.8 billion. Software is the third largest industry in the United States, employing more than two million people.

In addition to enforcing U.S. copyright laws, BSA educates business leaders about the need for effective software management in the workplace. To avoid software piracy, BSA recommends the following steps:

• Adopt a corporate policy on compliance with copyright laws;
• Audit company computers;
• Document software purchases;
• Understand licensing agreements; and
• Educate management and employees of their obligations under copyright laws.