Anti-Piracy & Licensing Policy

01. Purpose and Scope

This policy applies to all pilots, management personnel, developers, designers and other members participating in British Midland Group activities, including British Midland Virtual, British Midland Regional and associated Group operations.

It covers software, aircraft add-ons, scenery, liveries, navigation charts, documents, media and other digital resources used or distributed in connection with our services.

Members are responsible for ensuring that software used in connection with British Midland activities is properly licensed and used in accordance with the applicable terms.

02. Software Licensing

All software used on personal computers by members and staff, and on designated community resources including our website, Discord servers and BMAcars services, must be properly licensed. Members and staff must use legitimately obtained software and be familiar with its licence terms.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Flight simulators and aircraft add-ons.
• Airport scenery and navigation utilities.
• Flight-planning tools and navigation data.
• Pilot clients and supporting software.
• Digital charts and aeronautical publications.
• Development tools and other software used in Group projects.

Members must comply with the applicable licence agreements, including restrictions on installation, modification, redistribution and commercial use.

Where licensing terms are unclear, members should seek clarification from the software developer or rights holder. If no licence agreement was supplied, the licence holder should request one from the vendor. The Group strongly discourages using software without an accompanying licence agreement.

03. Prohibition of Piracy

British Midland Group maintains a strict prohibition on software piracy.

Software piracy includes using, obtaining, copying, modifying or distributing software contrary to its applicable licence, whether deliberately or unintentionally.

The following activities are prohibited:

• Using cracked, illegally activated or otherwise unauthorised copies of software.
• Sharing paid software, serial numbers, licence keys or activation tools without permission.
• Distributing or linking to pirated aircraft, scenery, utilities, charts or other protected materials.
• Encouraging, facilitating or providing instructions for software piracy through Group services.
• Using British Midland platforms to advertise or distribute unauthorised software.

These restrictions apply to our website, Discord communities, BMAcars services and any other platforms operated on behalf of British Midland Group.

04. Intellectual Property and Liveries

British Midland Group respects the intellectual property rights of software developers, artists, designers and other content creators.

Official British Midland liveries, graphics, website assets and other resources must be created using material that the Group is entitled to use and distribute.

Our livery packages must not include copyrighted aircraft models, proprietary software components or third-party assets unless their redistribution is expressly authorised.

Where applicable, published resources should include licensing information, acknowledgements and installation requirements.

Members must not reproduce, modify or redistribute British Midland-created material contrary to its published licence or applicable permissions.

05. Third-Party Software and Resources

Software released by British Midland Group to third parties, whether sold or provided free of charge, must generally include a licence agreement. Digital resources must include appropriate licensing terms where required.

The Group will not knowingly distribute or recommend unlawfully obtained software.

Third-party resources must be reviewed for licensing compatibility before incorporation into official releases.

Where a copyright or licensing concern is identified, distribution may be suspended while management investigates.

06. Reporting Suspected Piracy

Members who become aware of suspected piracy or intellectual property infringement connected with British Midland operations should report the matter privately to the Management Committee.

Reports may be submitted to:

Contact.britishmidlandvirtual@gmail.com

Reports should include relevant details and supporting information where reasonably available.

Members must not publicly accuse individuals of piracy or disclose private information during an investigation.

All reports will be handled confidentially as far as reasonably possible and in accordance with BMV-POL-001 — Privacy & Data Protection.

07. Investigation and Enforcement

British Midland Group will investigate credible reports of piracy fairly and proportionately.

Where unintentional licensing misuse is identified, management may provide guidance and require the issue to be corrected immediately.

Where a member is found to have deliberately and intentionally used pirated software, their membership will be terminated immediately in accordance with VATSIM's applicable anti-piracy requirements.

Management may also remove prohibited content, suspend access while investigating, and take other appropriate action to protect the Group and affected rights holders.

Members may submit information for management consideration or request a review of a decision. Such a review does not automatically suspend protective measures.

08. VATSIM Compliance and Reporting

British Midland Group is committed to complying with VATSIM's Virtual Airline Associate Policy and relevant network requirements.

When a member is removed for confirmed deliberate and intentional use of pirated software and is also a VATSIM member, management will notify VATSIM of the violation under section 8.11.5. Management will send this notification promptly to the Director and Assistant Director of Virtual Airlines. Section 8.11.5 does not specify a separate numerical deadline; the 30-day requirement below must also be met where applicable.

Where the Group receives notice from a third party concerning copyright, trademark or patent infringement, including piracy facilitated through Group platforms, management will notify the VATSIM Director and Assistant Director of Virtual Airlines in writing within 30 days, as required by the applicable Associate Policy.

Under section 8.11.10, failure to notify VATSIM within the required 30 days results in immediate suspension from the VAA programme and referral to the Membership Department for further review. Management will record when a notice was received and when the written notifications were sent.

Such notifications will be limited to relevant information and handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

Notification does not prevent VATSIM from taking independent administrative action.

09. Responsibilities

Members are responsible for using appropriately licensed software, observing licence conditions and reporting suspected violations.

Designers and developers must ensure that official resources are distributed with appropriate permissions and licensing information.

The Management Committee is responsible for administering this policy, reviewing reports, enforcing requirements and coordinating notifications to VATSIM where necessary.

The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer oversee significant enforcement decisions and external correspondence.

10. Policy Review and Amendments

This policy is maintained by the British Midland Group Management Committee.

It will be reviewed periodically and whenever relevant VATSIM requirements, licensing obligations or Group operations materially change.

The current approved version will be published on the official British Midland Virtual website.

Members will be informed of material amendments through the Group's established communication channels.