This happens every year, the Business Software Alliance releases its figures on how much the theft of software costs the industry: and every year they get their numbers wrong.
FORBES: Business Software Alliance Gets It Wrong on Software Theft Again
According to the letter from UCITA's Ring, the following software industry organizations are supporting the draft -- industry antipiracy body the Business Software Alliance (14 members, among those Microsoft Corp, Lotus Development Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc.), the Software Information Industry Association, Silicon Valley Software Industry Coalition and the Computer Software Industry Association.
Groups as diverse as the Business Software Alliance and MoveOn.org oppose it.
According to the Business Software Alliance, more than one-third of all PC software in use is pirated.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a nonprofit trade group of which Microsoft is a key member, said it supports the actions which the software giant is taking.
As of today, the add-on seems to flag 333 sites as SOPA friendly, from industry groups like the Motion Picture Association of America to the Business Software Alliance, to companies like Apple.com to Nintendo.com, to Newscorp-owned sites like Fox.com and Sky.com.
FORBES: Chrome Add-on Tells You When You're Browsing A Site That Supports SOPA
So they've tried to create some programs, one called the Free File Alliance, which enables software companies to become part of an alliance that the IRS, the federal government, has created to make their software easier.
And, of course, if you choose not to pay for such software and pirate it instead, outfits like the Microsoft-backed Business Software Alliance will turn your former employees into tipsters, audit your software use and sue you.
What's different this year is the alliance between the hardware makers and a software giant, Google, with both determined to make connected TV a mainstream idea.
To enable this kind of development process, Smart TV Alliance will make the first version of its software development kit (SDK) available on its website which developers can download at no cost and use to develop their applications.
ENGADGET: LG and Philips / TP Vision announce Smart TV Alliance for cross platform TV apps
The alliance has already licensed Directory Server 4.1 to Check Point Software, Hewlett-Packard and Compaq.
The software development kit, along with software tools for building applications, is slated to be released to alliance members in a few weeks.
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