SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION SETTLES PIRACY CLAIM WITH MICHIGAN
HOSPITAL

August 14, 1995 (Washington, DC) -- The Software Publishers Association
(SPA) announced today that it has settled a claim of software piracy
against a large Michigan hospital. Harper Hospital, based in Detroit,
Michigan, agreed to pay SPA a low six figure amount to settle allegations
made against it for using unauthorized copies of SPA member software.

SPA received a call on its anti-piracy hotline 800-388-7478 that Harper
Hospital allegedly was using unauthorized copies of software copyrighted
by SPA members. After further investigation and in lieu of filing a
lawsuit, SPA asked Harper Hospital to conduct a full audit of all of its
installed software, which Harper did.

According to Joseph Scallen, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial
Officer of Harper Hospital, "SPA offered us a chance to work cooperatively
to investigate and resolve the situation. 'This collaborative approach was
beneficial for both SPA and Harper Hospital. Before undertaking the audit,
we believed that our existing policies and procedures were adequate to
prevent the use of unauthorized software. Upon undertaking the audit, we
discovered that we were not as diligent as we needed to be. We have now
cleaned up and instituted tighter procedures, with the help of the SPA's
suggestions. This certainly was alearning experience for us, and should be
for other hospitals."

The audit revealed unauthorized copies of software programs published by 38
SPA member companies.

In addition to the payment to SPA for the unauthorized software, Harper
Hospital agreed to destroy all unauthorized copies of software and
repurchase authorized software. SPA also supplied Harper Hospital with a
copy of its suggested policies and procedures in regard to implementing an
effective software compliance program.

In announcing the settlement, SPA Director of Litigation Sandra Sellers
said, "Harper Hospital cooperated fully with SPA in conducting the audit,
responding to our requests for information pertaining to its licensing of
software, and in instituting more stringent policies. When possible, we
prefer to work cooperatively and confidentially with organizations to
obtain compliance with the copyright laws and our members' license
agreements, without the need for litigation."

The settlement recovered from this action, along with the $14 million
collected to date from similar actions, are used to fund SPA's anti-piracy
campaign, which is balanced between education and enforcement. SPA
distributes free educational brochures, posters and SPAudit and KeyAudit
(SPA's auditing software). SPA also offers for nominal charges videos and
the Software Management Guide as resources to the public. Additionally,
SPA gives a full-day course in software asset management called the
Certified Software Manager course, which will tour 22 cities this fall.
Each of these materials and programs are designed to assist organizations
to comply with the copyright law.

To report instances of copyright infringement, or receive educational
materials on the copyright law, please call SPA's anti-piracy hotline at
800-388-7478 or contact SPA at piracy@spa.org.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its over 1160 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France. Press releases available on
SPA's World Wide Web site http://www.spa.org and CompuServe (GO:
SPAFORUM).

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756
 
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