WASHINGTON, DC — The next iteration of the US joint strategy for protecting intellectual property rights should be crafted to address emerging threats in the cloud and mobile computing arenas, the Business Software Alliance said recently in comments submitted to US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel.
“The most important trend in the software industry is the growth of cloud computing,” BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman wrote. “Cloud computing will profoundly change not only how software is delivered and consumed, but also how it may be stolen.”
BSA’s filing outlined potential threats such as unauthorized use of cloud services and mobile device piracy. “It’s unclear which of the rights we have under copyright law apply when someone uses a cloud service without authorization,” Holleyman said. “This may be an area that requires legal clarification in the US and overseas.”
BSA applauded progress the Office of the IP Enforcement Coordinator has made in protecting the rights of innovators under its first Joint Strategic Plan, issued in June 2010, and highlighted opportunities to build on that strong foundation in its next iteration, due by law on December 31. Among other steps, BSA’s filing recommended that the US government continue demonstrating leadership at home by requiring federal contractors to use only licensed software, and continue pressing America’s trading partners to reduce software piracy abroad through bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
“The impact of software piracy has consequences that extend far beyond the software industry itself,” Holleyman said. “When businesses in high-piracy countries flout the law by stealing the software they use to run their companies, they gain significant productivity and other benefits — but they avoid costs that their law-abiding US competitors pay. When the products made with stolen software enter the US market, they undermine sales of US goods and displace American jobs.”
“BSA appreciates the careful thought that went into developing the first Joint Strategic Plan and all of the hard work by multiple agencies that has gone into implementing it,” said Holleyman. “They have laid a solid foundation on which to build the second Joint Strategic Plan.”
Click here to download BSA’s submission.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading global advocate for the software industry. It is an association of more than 70 world-class companies that invest billions of dollars annually to create software solutions that spark the economy and improve modern life. Through international government relations, intellectual property enforcement and educational activities, BSA expands the horizons of the digital world and builds trust and confidence in the new technologies driving it forward.
