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A trade group representing some of the world's largest software makers has launched a kind of amnesty program to coax businesses to legally license software before the vendors have to get nasty.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is encouraging companies in five major U.S. cities to audit their computer systems and identify any pirated software running on company systems. Businesses that can license any illegal software by the end of July will be let off the hook. Penalties for each violation can typically cost as much as $150,000, the group says.

Called the "software truce" program, the industry watchdog group is targeting companies in Atlanta; Portland, Oregon; Kansas City, Missouri; New York; and Oklahoma City. The group is promoting the program in radio advertisements. In them, Bob Kruger, the group's vice president of enforcement, says the BSA is looking for disgruntled employees to identify possible infringements and turn in their employers.

"Most of the calls come from current or former employees," he says in the radio ad, which is airing in each respective city. It can also be heard on the BSA's Web site.

The BSA has launched several investigations into companies that are suspected of using illegal copies of software programs, often concluding with costly penalties. A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aviation manufacturing company called Dayton Granger on Friday agreed to pay $120,000 to settle claims with the BSA. It was allegedly running unlicensed versions of software from Adobe Systems, Autodesk, Microsoft, and Symantec.

The BSA contacted Dayton Granger about its possible software infringements, which conducted an internal audit and confirmed it had more copies of software than it had supporting licenses, the BSA says. After settling on a penalty fee, the company agreed to delete unlicensed copies, purchase replacement software, and strengthen its software management practices.

Targeting Multibillion-Dollar Theft

The BSA and many of its member companies, including Microsoft, have aggressively targeted software piracy in business. The group claims losses from unlicensed software topped $2.6 billion worldwide last year.

The July Truce program is the fifth campaign of its kind in the United States. The first was in August 2000. The BSA has conducted similar programs in other countries, including Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Denmark.

To ease the process of identifying unlicensed software, the BSA makes available on its Web site a free download for a set of software tools to audit corporate computer systems.

"If an organization is not already under investigation by the BSA, they should take advantage of this," says Debbi Bauman, a BSA spokesperson.

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