New Hampshire Gov. Shaheen orders only legal software be used

New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed an executive order on Monday that

requires all state agencies to use legal, licensed software.

Pamela Walsh, the governor's press secretary, said the order was meant to

send a message about the importance of respecting copyrights, not in response

to knowledge of illegal software use.

"It is not an issue in state government, but we wanted to further improve

our practices regarding copyrights," Walsh said. "It is setting an example."

She also said that because New Hampshire is home to many high-tech companies,

software piracy hurts the economy.

California, Nevada, Colorado and Washington have issued similar orders.

Walsh said the high-tech industry spoke to the governor about sending a

message to businesses. "We recognize it's an issue for software companies,"

she said.

The order also requires any business that contracts with the state to use

legal software.

The Department of Administrative Services has six months to draft policy

standards to be distributed to all agencies, Walsh said.