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New Features in V.i. Labs’ CodeArmor Intelligence Alert Companies on their Use of Unlicensed Software to Avoid Threats, Audits, Fines and Lawsuits

Creates new channels for revenue using a zero touch, automated approach to software license amnesty programs

WALTHAM, Mass. — August 24, 2011 — The leading software intelligence solutions provider, V.i. Laboratories, Inc. (“V.i. Labs”), announced new features in its CodeArmor Intelligence solution that actually alert end users when they are using illegally copied software, then guide them through the process of becoming a compliant or paid customer. This proven amnesty approach eliminates the need for threats of audits and legal fees by the software vendors or third party intervention from groups such as the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) or Business Software Alliance (BSA).

“This approach to software compliance is quite compelling from both the vendor and user communities’ perspective. It uses a light-touch approach to forge new or improved licensing relationships between vendors and users in what can often be a contentious process,” said Keith Kupferschmid, General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement for the SIIA.  “By notifying users of any unlicensed software being used within a company, they can then take steps to effectively and easily obtain the necessary software licenses to remain compliant and vendors can easily track licensing data and build and strengthen customer relationships without the need to resort to audits or litigation.”

Pirated software goes viral quickly. The widespread availability of unlicensed software makes it easy for pirated applications to find their way to users’ desktops and spread within the corporate environment. In fact, after the initial download, the pirated software is often shared with many end users who are unaware that they are using unlicensed software. That is, until the user or the company they work for receives a notice demanding an audit of the company’s network environment along with the threat of fines or lawsuits.

“Rather than approaching companies with threats and fines, we’ve taken a different approach that sidesteps these and other perceived harassment to potential customers who are unaware they are using unlicensed software,” said Victor DeMarines, VP of Products for V.i. Labs.  “Automating license revenue recovery programs with CodeArmor Intelligence empowers ISVs to take a low impact, low touch approach to addressing the piracy problem associated with unaware users. They can create a new revenue stream and generate reports on unlicensed use and conversion rates within a dashboard that measures overall program success.”

Once an illegal application is used, CodeArmor Intelligence displays a warning message alerting the user that the license is not legal, and then presents a URL where they can learn the benefits of becoming a licensed customer and how to correct the situation by upgrading to a licensed version of the software. This approach also allows the software vendor to gain revenue from piracy use through an automated and “zero touch” process.  The software vendor can now convert an unlicensed user to a paying customer without personal contact from its sales or legal team – or the SIIA or BSA.

Avast! is a security software vendor that discovered a cracked license for its anti-virus application was in use by more than 750,000 users in 200 countries. Of the 1,500 legal professionals in the Arizona Bar Association, Avast! found that 86 percent were using a pirated license. Avast! configured its application to detect piracy and automatically display a warning screen that alerted the user to the unlicensed software and provided a mechanism for them to purchase a license and become customers. The company is now in the process of converting these pirates over to legal products.

To learn more, please contact V.i. Labs for access to our amnesty results estimator to determine the size of your revenue recovery opportunity.

About V.i. Laboratories (V.i. Labs)

V.i. Labs offers companies actionable intelligence on the use and misuse of their software to increase revenue. Its CodeArmor® platform tracks software use, protects valuable code from theft and tampering, and helps companies recover revenue lost to the use of unlicensed software and piracy. CodeArmor is used by leading software producers to protect more than $5 billion in revenues. V.i. Labs is privately held and headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more information, please visit www.vilabs.com, follow us on Twitter (@vilabs), or read our blog, Code Confidential.

V.i. Labs also sponsors the Software Piracy Initiatives Forum on LinkedIn. The forum was created to give software vendors a venue for discussing these issues and to share their experiences to minimize piracy’s impact on the industry.

©2011 V.i. Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. V.i. Labs, the V.i. Labs logo, and CodeArmor are trademarks or registered trademarks of V.i. Laboratories, Inc. All other product and brand names herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contacts

Daniel Thompson
PAN Communications
978.474.1900
vilaboratories@pancomm.com

Michael Goff
V.i. Laboratories, Inc.
781.398.3451
mgoff@vilabs.com

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Waltham License Compliance Panel 2012
May 1, 2012

V.i. Labs hosted a license compliance panel discussion on "Best Practices for Generating, Investigating and Converting License Compliance Opportunities" featuring guest speakers from Dassault Systèmes, Sullivan & Worcester, and Software Compliance Group.

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