BSA CALLS FOR STRONGER COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has released a white paper calling on government to strengthen laws meant to protect copyright holders from digital piracy. Fearing a situation like the one that record companies are grappling with, the BSA--which includes such companies as Microsoft, Intuit, and Symantec--urged lawmakers to take appropriate steps to ensure the enforceability of software copyrights and patents. An attorney for the group, Emery Simon, said the goal of the paper was not to encourage specific action but simply to identify a "problem that needs attention." The paper contends that a series of court rulings regarding the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have resulted in an "impediment to effective enforcement," but the group did not specifically call on lawmakers to revise that law. CNET, 7 January 2005 http://news.com.com//2100-1030_3-5516568.html

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES ANTISPYWARE TOOL Microsoft this week began offering a test version of an antispyware application for download. The company had been promising such a tool for some time, and it will debut an antivirus tool next week for cleaning viruses and other malware from computers. A spokesperson for Microsoft also said it will begin offering a service called "A1" that will provide users with updates to these tools. Microsoft has been working to improve the security standards of its products, and the company's new tools represent its extension of those efforts into the software security market currently led by companies including McAfee and Symantec. Shares of both of those companies' stock fell sharply on the news of Microsoft's new security tools. Reuters, 6 January 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7260250

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