Rat out your boss, get money

Nothing says Christmas, to me at least, like an offer to rat out the person who signs your paycheck:

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the global organization representing the nation’s leading software manufacturers, announced it will continue to offer cash rewards of up to $200,000 for qualifying software piracy reports in the U.S. through December 31, 2006.

The BSA Rewards Program, which was launched last fall for the first time in the U.S., encourages individuals with detailed information about software piracy in the workplace to come forward and report the infringements. All settlement revenue collected by the BSA is used for educational efforts to counter piracy worldwide.

Since the launch of the Rewards program in the U.S. last year, BSA has received nearly 3,000 leads nationally, mostly from industries in the sales/distribution, software development, engineering, manufacturing, telecommunications and advertising arenas. Other industries that generate software piracy leads included: graphics, internet, media and service industries.

“We hope the extra incentive the Rewards program provides will encourage individuals to do the right thing and confidentially report software piracy,” said Jenny Blank, BSA’s director of enforcement. “Despite the successes we have seen from the program, software piracy remains a serious problem, and BSA will continue to be at the forefront of the battle to reduce software theft.”

Confidential reports can be made by visiting www.bsa.org or by calling 1-888 NO PIRACY. Reward payments are subject to eligibility requirements, the details of which are available on the website. Businesses trying to determine whether their organization is using unlicensed software can download the free software audit tools at www.bsaaudit.com.

Now, understand, I am NOT — in any way, shape or form — advocating the piracy of software. Stealing software stinks, it’s wrong-headed and, frankly, both stupid and almost always needless. (There are p-lenty of free alternatives out there, such as OpenOffice or GIMP, a free image manipulation program which rivals Photoshop. You don’t need to steal.)

The stupid part? If BSA lands on your head, you’ll end up with a very nasty price tag. Buying the software is lots cheaper, believe me.

But at the same time, I think I’d want to find some other way to pay for a kid’s PlayStation 3. The better thing, if you’re concerned about a company you work for, is to go to an appropriate boss and discuss this first. Dropping a dime, I believe, should only be a last resort, once your resume is back from the printer.