The Software & Information Industry Association is a private trade organization with absolutely no independent law enforcement authority. The SIIA's members include the largest software publishing companies in the world and most notably, Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Network Associates, Autodesk and Macromedia. These companies provide the Software & Information Industry Association a power of attorney to act on their behalf to accuse businesses of software piracy. Accordingly, the SIIA can enforce only those rights that its member software publishers have. Legally, software companies usually have a contractual relationship with a customer based upon a software license and also have the rights provided under copyright laws that protect the holder of copyright against infringement. These are the rights that the Software & Information Industry Association's enforcement department is attempting to protect.
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