Every day the Business Software Alliance (BSA) receives calls on its toll-free tip line from disgruntled employees (or ex-employees) reporting software piracy. "The best source for information that BSA has is the employee tip line," states Fred von Lohmann, Senior Staff Attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting digital rights (www.eff.org).

That initial contact sets the BSA process in motion that involves checking registration databases and other sources of information. Before any company is contacted, says Bob Kruger, Vice President of Enforcement at BSA, the organization works hard to distinguish between baseless and substantive claims. He says tips must include details and provide enough information to be helpful.

If you're one of the thousands of people who never register software for one reason or another, such as a fear your contact information will be sold, then BSA will not find your registration in a database. You may get a letter asking you to provide proof that your software is legal and you are following all the license regulations.