[ale] B$A and Ernie Ball electric guitars

[Bob Toxen]

On Tue, Mar 18, 2003 at 11:47:11AM -0800, Marvin Dickens wrote:
> Hello everybody!


> "Two years ago, the maker of Ernie Ball electric guitars and strings
> was slapped with a $90,000 fine by the Business Software Alliance for
> what the company says was unwitting use of eight unlicensed copies of
> Microsoft Office.

If anybody *knows* the details, please explain:

1. How the BSA (who has no legal authority) can talk a company into
   giving up $11,000 per unlicensed copy of software that retails for
   maybe $1,000 each?  Why didn't they say "go sue us"?

2. Why anyone would let the BSA goons in without first checking their
   systems?

I keep reading accounts like this and I'm astounded that anyone allows
themselves to be bullied out of so much money.

> Microsoft then clipped a news story referring to Ernie Ball's run-in
> with the BSA, an industry association it co-founded, and attached it to
> a letter to area businesses warning they could face similar fines. The
> letter also pitched Microsoft software upgrades as a way to eliminate
> that risk. Ball paid the fine. Then he wiped Windows and Office off
> his firm's 80 personal computers and switched to ''open-source code''
> software programs, which do much of what Microsoft's products do at a
> fraction of the cost."


> Here is the article if you wnat to read it:

> http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030227/4902704s.htm

I did read it.

> Best
> Marvin

Bob Toxen, happily M$-free
bob at verysecurelinux.com               [Please use for email to me]
http://www.verysecurelinux.com        [Network&Linux/Unix security consulting]
http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com [My book:"Real World Linux Security 2/e"]
Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.

"Microsoft: Unsafe at any clock speed!"
   -- Bob Toxen 10/03/2002
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