Facing a software audit is a daunting process, which takes time, money, and resources to complete. Typically, the first question the target of an audit asks is whether the audit is legitimate, closely followed by why the company has been selected for an audit. What triggers an Autodesk audit? Disgruntled employee One of the common ways…
Many of our clients ask us questions after receiving an audit letter from Autodesk. Part I of this series focused on new trends by Autodesk’s auditing, and included in Part II is a list of potential issues arising during an audit. While this list is not comprehensive, the following are the most common questions. 1….
The Covid-19 pandemic shifted entire non-essential industries to a remote workforce, leaving companies scrambling to set up employees to work from home. A study in June 2020 by Pricewaterhouse Coopers determined that nearly 70% of office workers were working remotely. While some employees were allowed to simply transfer their work computers to their home office,…
Autodesk sometimes reaches out to its customers to offer additional services, products, or upgrades on existing software. Autodesk’s business team may offer to conduct a license assessment to confirm a customer is properly licensing all of its software as part of the offer to provide additional services. Autodesk may also request that the customer use…
Autodesk routinely sends letters to businesses that it suspects may be using Autodesk software products without adequate licensing, both in order to confirm those suspicions as well as to address any license-compliance discrepancies. Typically under threat of a federal lawsuit for copyright infringement, Autodesk requires targeted businesses to respond to detailed questions about the Autodesk…
Autodesk routinely conducts software audits to determine whether businesses have unlicensed copies of its software installed on their computers. Architecture firms typically represent a significant portion of the targets of such audits – many such firms are heavily reliant on Autodesk software due to Autodesk’s dominance in the market for computer-aided design software and due…
In the universe of software-copyright enforcement programs, Autodesk’s may be the most active and vigorous. All businesses – even those not running Autodesk software – should take steps early and regularly to identify and eliminate any software-compliance gaps associated with Autodesk and other software installations. It is common for businesses owners to be surprised by…
Autodesk, Inc. uses a variety of resources to identify potential audit targets. Many of these targets are small architecture or engineering firms that employ independent contractors in lieu of full time employees as CAD operators. A typical Autodesk software audit letter requests information regarding any installations of Autodesk products on company machines. The following are…
Conducting a self-audit while facing potential copyright infringement claims from Autodesk or any other software publisher often is complicated and time-consuming. Nevertheless, it is critical to choose an appropriate method to ensure the audit results are accurate. A self-audit usually may be conducted using various methods, including third-party scanning tools, such as Belarc, or manual…
Software-license compliance can be a difficult task, and understanding the standard Autodesk Software License Agreement may present challenges. Here are four of the most important terms in that agreement to remember for compliance purposes: 1. License Terms Vary Regarding Installations. a. Multi-seat license. Although Autodesk generally restricts software installations to one installation per license, the…
