Pub. 3 2013 Issue 2

17 business owner is found to have an unauthorized copy of Corel® WordPerfect® loaded on eight of its computers, the settlement may look as follows: 8 x $299.00 (retail price) $2,392.00 x 3 (the multiplier) 7,176.00 plus attorneys’ fees and cost 5,000.00 $14,568.00 Now imagine that the business owner is also found to have on its computers a couple unauthorized copies of Adobe®Acrobat ® Professional, ten of the Microsoft®Office products (e.g., Excel® and Powerpoint®) and a Rosetta Stone® product (loaded on a business computer by an employee who wants to learn Spanish during his/her lunch break). Under the Copyright Act, the busi- ness owner is looking at potential statutory damages in excess of $400,000. Needless to say, the potential liability is not worth the risk. We strongly suggest conducting a software audit before a Trade Association gets wind of a probable violation at your business. The costs of the audit and any software licenses then found to be lacking is a small price to pay before a Trade Association comes knocking. Q For more information, contact Gordon D. Scholte at (949) 608-6900. DON BROWN Advertising Sales 813.423.1429 donfbrown@verizon.net