Belgian court slaps BSA's wrist

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been ordered by a Belgian judge to cease some of its activities, writes Dominique Deckmyn.

The judge has even forbidden the BSA from operating as a non-profit making organisation, ruling that its purposes are 'entirely commercial'.

It is not yet clear whether similar actions in other European countries - such as Crackdown 97 in the UK - will be influenced by this decision.

The BSA comprises software vendors - including Microsoft, Lotus and Novell - and aims to eliminate software piracy.

Acodit, an association of Belgian corporate dealers was concerned by an aggressive mailing campaign carried out in Belgium, in which 5,000 small and medium-sized enterprises were asked by the BSA to provide details about the software they were using and whether or not they had enough licences.

A similar campaign upset small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.

The accompanying letter threatened companies with prosecution if they were caught using illegal software.

A very similar campaign was launched in the UK as 'Crackdown 97' - again leading to harsh criticism from users and from other industry players.

The Belgian judge has declared the Belgian campaign illegal, saying it abused copyright law and was not in accordance with 'honest business practices'. The judge ordered all filled-in questionnaires destroyed and that BSA Belgium should cease its campaign to offer financial rewards for tip-offs.

However, in the UK the BSA maintains that it is doing nothing illegal.

? Report by VNU Newswire