Washington, U.S.A. — A recent wave of high-value unlicensed software cases settled by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) underscores the persistent problem of software piracy in the United States. While U.S. piracy rates have dipped overall – as noted in the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study – the commercial value of software piracy in the U.S. still adds up to almost $10 billion, with 31 percent of computer users admitting to pirating software.

“Since January, BSA has settled a number of cases of unlicensed software – including eight cases representing a value of more than $2.5 million,” said Jodie Kelley, BSA’s Senior Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel. “Using pirated software – even if unknowingly – has the potential to expose a company to devastating legal, financial, and security risks. The companies involved in these cases are effectively denying copyright owners the rights to compensation for their hard work and intellectual property.”

These eight companies have agreed to pay settlements ranging from $120,000 to $625,000 to settle claims that they used unlicensed copies of software published by BSA members Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Quest, and Symantec.

A summary of the recent cases follows:

• Costumes Galore, Inc., an online retailer of Halloween costumes and accessories based inNorth Mankato, MN.
• ChannelAdvisor, a Delaware-based global e-commerce software provider.
• DEI Communities, based in Omaha, NE, which owns and operates apartment communities throughout the central United States.
• RQ Construction Inc., of Carlsbad, CA.
• Affordable Power, LP, an energy provider to residential and commercial sectors in Houston, TX.
• eLitigation Solutions, Inc., of Pleasanton, CA, a provider of eDiscovery and Hosted Review services.
• A major defense contractor in the Northeast.
• A network of automotive dealerships.

As part of the settlements, the involved companies have agreed to delete all unlicensed software from their computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become fully compliant, and take measures to ensure future compliance.

“The significant uptick in high-value cases of unlicensed software this year further confirms what BSA has been closely studying for more than 20 years – software piracy is a global problem, and one that will continue to evolve in form and size unless companies and governments alike reduce risks and increase their IT efficiencies,” Kelley said. “Software is a strategic asset for organizations of all sizes and must be managed properly. BSA is committed to educating businesses about proper software management – and we offer a number of resources at bsa.org.”

BSA also provides educational resources to help protect businesses of all sizes from the risks associated with pirated software. To educate IT managers and SAM practitioners, BSA offers SAM Advantage, an industry-aligned online training course and certification program that teaches businesses the skills needed to effectively manage their software. Additionally, BSA’s Certified in Standards-based SAM for Organizations is the first and only enterprise-level certification certification that affirms an organization is compliant with its software license agreements and its SAM processes are aligned to the International Organization for Standardization SAM standard.

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San Diego, U.S.A. – Skye Maritime, a new firm offering security and anti-piracy solutions for clients operating in war risk regions at sea, is beginning operations this month. The company, launched by two U.S. Armed Forces veterans, provides a specialized training and ethics based approach to security, employing teams of highly skilled professionals with backgrounds in the U.S. armed forces and law enforcement communities.

The firm helps clients by providing services aimed at understanding and predicting changes in pirate threat tactics, techniques and procedures. In-turn they offer protection to combat those threats, including detailed risk assessments, physical security consulting, and embedded armed teams. Their security professionals are carefully screened, receive extensive follow-on threat-based training, and deploy with superior insurance, weapons and equipment. Skye Maritime’s operations are centered on carefully vetted rules for the use of force and standard operating procedures supported by a 24/7 maritime operations center to ensure each mission is executed with extreme precision. Their procedures and credentials have been carefully vetted and approved by a major U.S. shipping company who now enlists Skye Maritime as an authorized service vendor.

“We are excited to offer our distinctive security services to our clients who are looking for reliable protection for their vessels, crew and cargo,” says Skye Maritime CEO Mike Slattery, who served with distinction in the Navy aboard the submarine USS Jimmy Carter conducting classified missions around the world. “We have carefully and purposefully spent the past year building our procedures and training our teams with extensive care and precision. We are confident our uniquely professional approach to maritime security will distinguish Skye Maritime as a highly trusted company that will bring our clients added value in very uncertain environments around the globe.”

Slattery has partnered with Alexander Martin, who serves as President of Skye Maritime, and is a former active duty Marine Corps Captain who led infantry, reconnaissance and special operations units in multiple combat deployments. Together they formed Skye Maritime, in part, to create full-time jobs for veterans with special operations and combat experience; specifically those who were born to lead, protect and serve. The firm operates under the standard that its in-house assessment, selection and training curriculum coupled with the seasoned combat professionals that go through each course best prepares its maritime security team members to make the right decisions in a complex maritime environment and enable them to more accurately identify credible threats and, in such a situation, react with discretion and restraint.

“While serving as the assault element leader of the counter-piracy operations raid force for Task Force 151 off the coast of Somalia, our unit embraced the understanding that what was ‘special’ about our special operations capability was that we didn’t shoot if we didn’t have to – that we would train harder and perform with a higher degree of professionalism and excellence so that we did not have to take any lives if at all possible. That was exactly what happened when we took back the Magellan Star from pirates in 2010,” explained Martin. “That very same ethos of restraint, discipline, excellence and dedication to our mission is the heartbeat of Skye Maritime.”

Based in Southern California, Skye Maritime is fully certified and licensed to move weapons and provide security services with governmental approvals from the United States and multiple countries at strategic embark/debark positions around the world.

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Citizens around the globe are more concerned than ever with SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), ACTA (Anti- Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), and PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act). Behind all of these mechanisms are economic interests from big companies who claim to lose more than 200 billion euros per year, due to piracy.

The legislation has broad support from organizations that rely on copyright, such as the Motion Pictures Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Macmillan US, Viacom, Nike, L´Oreal, and Acushnet among others. The opposition group includes companies such as Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, Linkendin, Ebay, Mozilla Corporation, Human Rights Watch, and many more.

SOPA and PIPA are two sister bills currently being considered by the House of Commons and the Senate, respectively. Both are designed to tackle the problem of foreign-based websites that sell pirated movies, music and other products. SOPA and PIPA are very similar, but SOPA includes a provision making it illegal to stream unauthorized copyrighted content. Access could be blocked by making it impossible for users to type in a simple web address into a browser to reach the site, or by requiring search engines like Google to disable links to the sites.

What is clear, is that ACTA and SOPA have the same objective, which is to protect against copyright infringement, by blocking certain elements of the internet.  Monica Horten (www.iptegrity.com) defines SOPA as a mechanism to stop websites from being visible or trading in the United States, in order to avoid American citizens getting access to websites and services which are hosted outside the United States.

SOPA is a theft and antipiracy bill that seeks to protect American property, so it appears like a way to give US authorities carte blanche to police copyright worldwide.

It is important to point out that ACTA does not comply with American intellectual property and copyright law, as SOPA does, stopping websites that are indulging in unethical behavior, such as cyber crimes, or intellectual property right violations, which can be forced to be taken down or blocked in U.S. websites. For example, Megavideo and Megaloud have been some of the victims of SOPA, while FilseSonic has disabled its feature allowing users to share files on its site.

ACTA could be viewed as international version of SOPA, which aims to establish international intellectual property standards, focusing on conterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement. Countries need to have their own versions of copyright law. The proposals of ACTA focus on counterfeit goods and generic medications. This means that generic drugs and food patents will be more difficult to obtain in countries like India and Brazil, who are against ACTA.

Phil Hunt, the UK Pirate Party’s foreign policy spokesman told theinquirer.net: “Criticism of ACTA has often focused on the harm it will do to the Internet, but that doesn’t address one of the most important issues that ACTA presents: the fact that it will kill sick people in developing countries by denying them access to affordable generic drugs- whilst doing nothing to address the issue of unsafe counterfeit medications.”

The ACTA treaty was signed by the United States, Australia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea last October. The European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland have not yet signed because of their domestic procedures. The treaty has be to translated into all of the E.U. languages. In the United States, there is a petition to end ACTA and to protect internet privacy, signed by more than 30,000 citizens who are calling on the Obama administration to veto the treaty.

In Europe, opposition to ACTA has picked up in the past few weeks, with thousands protesting across Eastern Europe and in Germany, France, and Ireland. On January 26, while the Polish Government signed ACTA, Polish Members of Parliament wore Guy Fawkes masks, like the one in V for Vendetta, in order to protest the treaty. It was an ironic jab at Time Warner, who owns the intellectual rights to the movie.

Last week, the European Union suspended attempts to ratify the international anti-counterfeiting treaty, ACTA, and asked Europe’s high court to see if the controversial proposal violates any fundamental E.U. rights. E.U. trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Wednesday that an opinion from the European court of justice would clear what he called the “fog of misinformation” surrounding ACTA. De Gucht told reporters in Brussels, “ACTA will not censor websites, or shut them down; ACTA will not hinder freedom of the internet or freedom of speech.”

De Gucht continued, “Intellectual property is Europe’s main raw material, but the problem is that we currently struggle to protect it outside the E.U. This hurts our companies, destroys jobs, and harms our economies.”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidberkowitz/

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After a Malaysian journalist was shot to death while on a mission trip in Mogadishu Friday, the Prime Minister urges the public not to point fingers. “Let’s not play this blame game,” Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (Najib) said Sunday, in a media conference at the Royal Mayasian Air Force base in Subang. “The most important thing for us is to take stock of what has happened.”

The deceased journalist, Noramfaizul Mohd Noor, 39, worked as a cameraman for the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama. He had a wife and two children. Najib spent time consoling Noramfaizul’s family.  According to Bernama, Noramfaizul “was shot while travelling in a four-wheel-drive vehicle with other Malaysian media personnel covering the humanitarian aid mission to Somalia by the Putera 1Malaysia Club.”

Officials said that a clash between the African Union (AU) troops and other gunmen resulted in Noramfaizul’s death. Another reporter was severely wounded. A security official told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that initial reports indicate that AU peacekeepers were responsible for opening fire on the cameraman’s vehicle. Further investigation of the incident is being conducted.

Adbukarim Ali, a security official with the AU-backed government army, reported to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the shooting occurred at a busy area, which was Kilometer Four, in Mogadishu. “The men were hit by bullets when they were in their car, as they apparently were returning to their hotel,” said Ali.

In an article by Reuters, Muhideen Mohamed, a volunteer with the Malaysians described the deadly scene.“Two bullets hit the journalist, one in the head and another on the shoulder. He died on the spot,” Mohamed said. Mohamed also reported that the second reporter suffered a bullet wound to the arm.

All 54 members of the Putera 1Malaysia Club mission flew back to Subang on board the aircraft carrying the remains of Noramfaizul, reported Bernama. “There’s a limit to what you can prepare for any eventuality,” Najib said. “Isyallah (God willing), we’ll try our level best in the future to prevent such a thing from happening again.” Najib also said, “this deadly shooting is part and parcel of journalism.”

According to the BBC, as the Somalia’s food crisis has intensified. There has been an increase in the number of foreign aid workers and journalists traveling to region to help.

In July, The Washington Post reported that the famine in parts of southern Somalia had already killed tens of thousands of people, mostly children. Humanitarian aid officials described the situation as the “worst humanitarian crisis in the troubled country in two decades.”

On August 30, an article in Bernama said that a group representing the Putera 1Malaysia Club, which included Noramfaizul, had arrived in Mogadishu.Atuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, mission chief and club president, said that their humanitarian work would focus on five areas in Somalia; Magadishu being the first stop.

The mission aimed to distribute 250 tones of food and provide medicine to approximetly 45,000 families.The report by Bernama concluded with the statement that, “Bernama TV reporter Khairulanuar Yahaya and cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Noor are among the media crew taking part in the mission.”

The BCC said that the crisis in Somalia was “severely aggravated by civil strife.” According to AFP, “Clashes between rival militia groups happen regularly in Mogadishu, a city that has been battered by a bloody insurgency as Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab rebels fight to unseat the Western-backed government.”

Such tumultuous conditions make humanitarian aid missions, like the work of Putera 1Malaysia Club, particularly dangerous. Noramfaizul is not the first individual to be killed while trying to better humanity in Africa.

Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rank Somalia as the deadliest country in Africa for media personnel, with 23 media workers killed since 2007.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfameastafrica/

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Everyone apparently knows the piracy consequences on the audiovisual industry. But they maybe do not know the real cost of this action. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), every 20 songs available on the Internet, 19 were illegally downloaded, affecting the same producers and artists worldwide.

That is why artists and creators are looking forward new ways of selling their art and making money at the same time. The indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs had a great idea to fight against piracy and you can participate with them through their webpage kaiserchiefs.com

They thought an unique way to sell their new album named “The future is medieval” and the users are the major figures in this online distribution.

First of all, you must select 10 of the 20 available songs in the “create album” section. You can preview all songs and you also can change your selection anytime you want. Afterwards you will design the cover of your brand new customized album. There are several ways to make an unique cover, so try and try again until you get the most original one.

The final step is to pay for your new album, only 7.50 pounds (around US$ 12), and enjoy of your own music selection. In addition to this, if a user buys another user’s selection, this one will earn a dollar for this transaction.

So it’s  time to make your choice, and maybe you would get some reward too.
All is up to you!

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvertje/with/2539403844/

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