VES and BSA Team Up to Fight Piracy

Los Angeles & Washington DC – The Visual Effects Society [1], the only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners, and the Business Software Alliance [2], the largest and most international IT industry group, announced that they have partnered on a joint program to promote a self certification software license compliance program. Working together, the two groups will promote voluntary compliance with intellectual property laws and software licensing in order to fight piracy rampant in the entertainment industry’s VFX community.

“Our goal is to ensure that VFX professionals and facilities use licensed products that will level the playing field from a competitive vantage point. Facilities that are in compliance with copyright law shouldn’t have to compete against other companies which are operating with only one pirated license that is being used illegally by hundreds of artists,” said VES Executive Director Eric Roth.

“BSA works around the globe daily to combat piracy,” added Peter Beruk, BSA’s senior director of compliance marketing. “This latest tool, the LMR360 portal, is a simple, scalable and cost-effective way for companies to self-declare their licenses and has been supported by many of BSA’s members. Over the next few months, we will be refining the pilot program so that it becomes a critical tool internationally for the VFX industry and all kinds of businesses.”

The program runs off the License Management Registry 360 (LMR360) portal that was developed by the BSA. The LMR360 is a self-declaration and verification effort that will allow the VFX industry and hundreds of facilities that do visual effects work on movies, TV, animation and video games to maintain and declare their software compliance, while differentiating themselves in the market place. As part of the LMR360 pilot program, VES will rollout LMR360 to its members. BSA also administers a software asset management certification program for large enterprises called Certified in Standards-based SAM (CSS(O)).

Source: Visual Effects Society