SIIA Issues Rewards to Seven Software Piracy Whistle-Blowers

Nation's Largest Corporate Anti-Piracy Reward Program Pays Out $22,500 in One Month

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital information industry, today announced that it paid $22,500 to seven sources who reported software piracy to SIIA. The rewards, which were all paid in March, ranged from $500 to $10,000.

Since 2003, the SIIA Anti-Piracy Rewards Program has given out the most, and the largest, anti-piracy awards of any organization. The rewards, which range from $500 for a settlement of $10,000 to $1 million for cases with settlement amounts over $20 million, are given to eligible individuals who report verifiable instances of corporate software piracy. In 2007, SIIA issued 26 rewards to individuals who reported incidents of corporate end-user software piracy.

"Corporate software piracy hurts American businesses, damages our economy and undercuts innovation and creativity," said Keith Kupferschmid SIIA's SVP of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement. "People who help track down corporate pirates play an important role in protecting businesses that play by the rules and ensuring the future competitiveness of our software industry."

Kupferschmid continued, "SIIA is committed to rewarding individuals who help stop software piracy in the workplace. Our industry-leading reward program is an effective tool for encouraging individuals to provide accurate and reliable reports of software and content piracy. We value the extensive cooperation and information our sources provide and the reward program is one way we show our appreciation for their efforts in helping us combat corporate software piracy."

Individuals interested in learning more about the Reward Program or submitting a piracy report can do so through SIIA's hotline at 800.388.7478 or SIIA's online Piracy Report Form at http://www.siia.net/piracy/report.

For almost 20 years, SIIA's Corporate Anti-Piracy program has been a national leader in combating software piracy in the workplace. In 2007, SIIA received 427 reports of alleged corporate end-user piracy - more than one and a half per business day.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 800 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit http://www.siia.net.