For software sales reps, piracy is a complex problem. It remains rampant in U.S. businesses, according to the SIIA, and every pirated copy of the software that you sell means less money in your corporate coffers and personal pocket. Unfortunately, if you suspect that your customers are pirating software, you have little recourse, because if you bring the matter up, and your suspicions are unwarranted, you’ll end up with a seriously angry customer. And if your suspicions are justified, you could end up getting a bigger commission, but losing the customer in the long run. However, there is a way out of the dilemma. Here are the steps:

STEP 1. Determine to what extent your software is at risk. According to the SIIA, the amount of software that’s pirated varies according to the type of software. Here are the raw statistics:

Media Management – 75 percent unlicensed
CAD – 69 percent unlicensed
Development – 48 percent unlicensed
Document Management – 48 percent unlicensed
Accounting – 37 percent unlicensed
Productivity – 33 percent unlicensed
Server – 33 percent unlicensed
Mapping – 26 percent unlicensed
Database – 22 percent unlicensed
Utilities – 21 percent unlicensed
Security – 11 percent unlicensed
Operating System – 8 percent unlicensed

In other words, if you’re selling media management software or CAD, it’s highly likely that your software is being pirated. If, by contrast, you’re selling utilities, you needn’t be as concerned.
STEP 2. Keep tabs on departing IT staffers.
To estimate the size and shape of the piracy problem, the SIIA solicits reports (via email, Internet, and hotline) from people who witness companies illegally using software, providing an award if the accusation proves verifiable. Most of these reports come from IT staffers, who are (naturally) the people most likely to witness the illegal use of software. In addition, more than 86 percent of those sending in reports are no longer employed by the target company, which suggests that the desire for revenge may have played a part in the decision to report the piracy. However, the SIIA claims that many of their sources claim that their primary reason for leaving the target company was the company’s lack of ethical behavior. Therefore, your ears should perk up whenever you hear that an IT staffer has quit or been fired from your customer’s IT group.

STEP 3. Quietly contact the IT ex-staffer. Explain that you’ve enjoyed working with them and that you’re curious about why they left. If the problem is that the staffer was angry about ethical lapses, you’ll probably find out right then and there about the size and scope of the problem. If not, listen to the ex-staffer’s complaints and then turn the conversation to software piracy. Communicate your suspicions to the ex-staffer and ask whether those suspicions are justified. You’ll probably get an honest response. If your suspicions are unfounded, simply ask the ex-staffer to keep the conversation private and end the call. If not, move to step 4.

STEP 4. Ask the ex-staffer to report the piracy to the SIIA. If you sense that the ex-staffer will cooperate, suggest that he or she report the piracy to the SIIA by emailing to piracy@siia.net. Once a source report is received, the SIIA staff begins a thorough investigation of all aspects of the case to determine whether to pursue the target organization. If SIIA decides to proceed, SIIA’s counsel contacts the target organization and requests that they perform a cooperative investigation of their workstations and servers for content. (If the target refuses to conduct the cooperative investigation, SIIA may decide to sue the target organization for infringement on behalf of its members.) Once the investigation is completed, SIIA compares the results against the target’s license documentation to determine if copyright infringement has occurred.

Here’s the good part. If infringement has occurred, the target must purchase adequate licenses to match their content usage, pay statutory damages, and implement company-wide content compliance policies. If everything proceeds apace, you’ll get the commission that you deserve – without having to deal with customer resentment.