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Anti-piracy

Many businesses and organizations are not aware that that they may be using illegal software. Illegally distributing and using software is a significant problem that hurts McAfee® and other vendors. Our System Protection Solutions and Network Protection Solutions portfolios exist to assure that the technology that powers your business  are security and availabile—from the desktop to the network core, and across the servers that you rely on to deliver your competitive advantage. We want you to have the information you need so you get maximum value our products─legally.

Software piracy is a big problem. Figures from the Business Software Alliance show the industry loses nearly US$33 billion annually from software piracy. That translates to 35 percent, which tells us more than one in every three applications used in business is used illegally.

McAfee is committed to educating our authorized users and, when necessary, bringing those violating our licenses into compliance.

Types of Software Piracy

Software piracy is the illegal distribution and/or reproduction of software. Purchasing software is actually purchasing a license to use the software. That license spells out how you may use that software within the law. Any time someone uses the software beyond the scope of the license, that person─ or company─is violating the license and possibly copyright law. Whether software piracy is deliberate or not, it is still illegal and punishable by law.

Software piracy comes in many forms. Those types that impact McAfee, Inc., include:

  1. Corporate or end-user:
    • Underreporting software installations acquired through volume purchase agreements.
    • Making additional copies of the software without having the proper number of licenses. For instance, you have one licensed copy, but make five additional copies from it.
    • Installing the software on a server with unrestricted staff access to it (no lock-out mechanisms, counter etc.).
  2. Subscription Licensing: Using subscription-licensed software past the expiration date.
  3. PrimeSupport Entitlement:  Accessing PrimeSupport entitlement (e.g. DATs, SuperDATs, updates or upgrades) without a current and valid PrimeSupport agreement.
  4. Internet Piracy can occur in many different facets. These forms include:
    1. Opening access to software, key generators, activation keys, serial numbers, and the like that allow installing the software through downloads, whether on burned CDs, or from the original packaging
      1. The provider offers a copy; you may not distribute back-ups copies.
      2. The product was previously distributed in violation of a contract with an authorized distributor, reseller, OEM, academic institution.
      3. The product was used to obtain an upgrade to a newer version.
      4. The product is an unreleased or beta version.
      5. The provider offering certain McAfee product is not an authorized reseller or otherwise licensed to reproduce or distribute McAfee software. McAfee regularly monitors the Internet, including auction and P2P sites, to combat any infringement of our rights.
    2. Linking to or distributing tools that subvert or undermine the copy protections or time-out functions of software.
  5. Counterfeiting, in which someone attempts to copy the product and packaging to look like a McAfee original.
  6. Hard-Disk loading where some unscrupulous suppliers illegally install software to help sell computers.While many suppliers are authorized to install products onto the machines that they sell; honest vendors supply the software via agreements with software vendors. 

 

First Steps to Effective Software Asset Management

To effectively manage your software assets, you have to know what you have installed. Regular audits can go a long way to telling you what is installed. You may have policies in place that prohibit your employees from making unauthorized copies, but these policies do not stop employees from copying software.

Many software audit  tools  are available to help you determine just what software is installed on your network. Running those tools and then comparing that information to your license documentation is a great first step to determine whether you are in compliance. If you find that you are compliant, congratulations. You’ve stepped up to the challenge and done the right thing.  If you find you are not in compliance, now would be the time to acquire the licenses necessary to get you back in compliance and review your existing software policy.

McAfee has a program to help get its users into compliance. Our one caveat to this program is that the user must have contacted McAfee before we knew of the alleged piracy at the company, because this program works cooperatively with the company instead of pursuing legal channels.

For more information on this, please contact your sales representative or [email protected].

Where can I buy authorized software?

This is the easy part. Part of knowing that you have authorized software is knowing where you purchase it. You can either go to our Web site www.mcafee.com, or to one of our many partners and resellers.

Legal Ramifications

Penalties

Software piracy can subject an individual to arrest and criminal prosecution, with fines up to US$250,000 and prison terms of up to five years. In civil cases, McAfee can obtain the its lost profits plus the infringer's profits, or statutory damages of up to US$150,000 per product. In addition, McAfee may seek to recover its attorneys' fees. As many companies know, the press loves covering a company has been forced to pay significant fines for having illegal software. Don't be one of them.

McAfee also cooperates with federal law enforcement authorities such as the FBI.

Reporting a Case of Software Piracy

McAfee, Inc., encourages you to do the right thing by notifying us of instances where a business or individual may be using or distributing our software illegally. Making this report helps us reduce the overall piracy problem, enable us to better support and modify out existing products, and have the resources to compensate our developers for those stolen tools. It also ensures that this business or person does not gain an unfair business advantage through reduced business expenses because they steal their software.

McAfee End-User Report Form 
To report an individual or organization you believe is illegally using our software, please click here.

McAfee Internet or Unauthorized Reseller Report
To report an individual or organization you believe is illegally selling or distributing McAfee software,  please click here.

You may also send general piracy inquiries to [email protected]

Note: all information is confidential and will only be used by the McAfee anti-piracy compliance team. 

Additional Resources

We work with a number of partner organizations to help us with this global problem. For more information, tools, and resources, visit:

BSA (www.bsa.org)
The Business Software Alliance is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent the fastest-growing industry in the world. BSA educates consumers on software management and copyright protection, cyber-security, trade, e-commerce and other Internet-related issues.

CAAST (www.caast.org)
Established in 1990, the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft is an industry alliance of software manufacturers who share the goal of reducing software piracy. CAAST provides educational information to corporations, consumers, academic institutions, and resellers about software theft and its implications. CAAST works with the Business Software Alliance.

FAST (www.fast.org.uk)
The Federation Against Software Theft was set up in 1984 by the British Computer Society's Copyright Committee. It was the first software copyright organization. Its first action was to raise the awareness of software piracy and to lobby Parliament for changes in the Copyright Act 1956 to reflect the needs of software authors and publishers. This campaign was successful and it has since been able to influence other legislation that affects properly safeguarding software. The work of FAST has directly influenced enforcing software copyright law and how investigations are carried out in many other countries.

SIIA (www.siia.net)
The work of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) has brought together the leading companies of the software and information industry, expanding market opportunities and forging the way toward a stronger industry. SIIA is the only trade association with a global reach that provides a credible, unifying voice for all businesses that produce the software and information that runs the digital economy. SIIA protects its members' intellectual property and advocates a legal and regulatory environment that benefits the entire industry. SIIA provides a neutral business forum for our members to understand business models, technological advancements, industry trends and best practices.

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