Microsoft Corp. will take a new approach toward midsize companies it suspects of using unlicensed software, sending a series of letters culminating in a threat of legal action from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), a company official said Monday.
By involving the BSA, which is an advocate for copyright and intellectual property issues, Microsoft is hoping to “spark off the engagement” with its customers, said Ram Dhaliwal, Microsoft’s licensing programs manager in the U.K.
“If they are using our software, we are simply going to ask them to pay for it,” said Dhaliwal, whose group runs the company’s Software Asset Management (SAM) program.
In the past, Microsoft contacted companies by phone or e-mail and asked to send people to audit their software. Microsoft contends that companies have an incentive to license software legally, and its audit and asset management teams can also look for ways the company can save money, he said.
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