Australians are being offered $20,000 rewards for dobbing in their bosses for using pirated software. It is part of a new campaign to draw negligent and conniving businesses out of the shadows.

The Business Software Alliance will this week begin advertising the rewards in Sydney's CBD, hoping to capture the loyalty of disgruntled employees, former staff members or competitors who believe firms are using software without proper, paid-up licences.

BSA

The global organisation has 24 members including Adobe, Apple, Corel, Microsoft and Symantec. It requires proof that companies are using more than one pirated brand of software before it begins legal proceedings on behalf of its members. Single cases of piracy are referred to the software maker in question.

In the past, the alliance offered standing rewards of between $500 and $5000 for credible leads, beginning with a signed affidavit. Clayton Noble, co-chair of the BSA in Australia, said the temporary booty increase was an experiment to see if more pirates were caught.