BSA | The Software Alliance is the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. It is an association of world-class companies that invest billions of dollars annually to create software solutions that spark the economy and improve modern life.

BSA serves as the world’s premier anti-piracy organization and as a respected leader in shaping public policies that promote technology innovation and drive economic growth.

Through government relations, intellectual property enforcement and educational activities around the world, BSA protects intellectual property and fosters innovation; works to open markets and ensure fair competition; and builds trust and confidence in information technology for consumers, businesses and governments alike.

Protecting Intellectual Property & Fostering Innovation

Intellectual property rights — copyrights, patents and trademarks — provide the legal framework for creative enterprise, the bedrock of growing economies. They are also essential to commercial software development, which is the world’s largest copyright industry.

By working with policymakers, leading enforcement actions and conducting public-education initiatives around the world, BSA ensures that respect for IPR pervades the global economy and society.

• Championing Intellectual Property Rights: BSA works with governments around the world to ensure intellectual property protections keep pace with new innovations in technology, such as cloud computing.


• Curbing Software Theft: BSA conducts vigorous enforcement programs in approximately 50 countries, helping its members guard against software theft by taking legal action against commercial, end-user license infringement, counterfeiting operations and Internet piracy.


• Leading Industry Research: BSA publishes the most authoritative global studies on piracy and its economic impact, illuminating the scope of the problem and helping shape national and international policy responses.


• Educating the Public: BSA educates consumers about harms associated with software piracy and offers a groundbreaking training program to help organizations more effectively manage their software assets.

Opening Markets & Ensuring Fair Competition

Open markets are essential to economic growth and prosperity. BSA expands market opportunities for the software industry by working with governments to break down trade barriers and eliminate discriminatory procurement preferences that stifle innovation by skewing competition.

• Breaking Down Barriers to Growth: BSA provides policymakers with information, expert analysis and industry insights to promote an open-markets agenda. These efforts include a special focus on the BRIC economies, which are the world’s fastest-growing technology markets but also home to rampant piracy.


• Promoting Technology Neutrality: BSA encourages fair competition among technologies by promoting internationally recognized standards and unbiased IT-procurement policies for governments.


• Supporting New Innovations: BSA works with policymakers around the world to create conditions for new technologies, such as cloud computing, to flourish. In addition to collaborating on technology standards, this work involves elevating intellectual property protections, harmonizing international legal principles and addressing other challenges that are beyond the capability or jurisdiction of any one company or government.

Building Trust & Confidence in Technology

Security and privacy undergird trust and confidence in information technology for consumers, businesses and governments. BSA promotes responsible data stewardship and facilitates acceptance and adoption of each new wave of innovation that transforms the technology marketplace and creates value for society.

• Driving Public-Private Collaboration: Drawing on the expertise of its members and productive working relationships with public officials, BSA serves as a knowledge center and catalyst to encourage cooperation and forge consensus among industry and governments.


• Protecting Consumers: As new technologies emerge, such as cloud computing, BSA and its members develop appropriate privacy and security standards and share their insights with policymakers and regulators.


• Mapping Policy Solutions: BSA has developed a global cybersecurity framework to guide governments in crafting policies that effectively deter and punish cyber crime, mitigate threats, inform and protect consumers, and respond to cyber incidents.