The International Data Corporation (“IDC”) reports that more than one-third of all software sold is counterfeit, despite often being marketed as authentic or legitimate by a third-party reseller. In addition to counterfeit software, some vendors sell heavily discounted software that is legitimate, but is sold in violation of its license agreement. The Copyright Act shifts…
I am a partner in Scott & Scott, LLP a firm that focuses on technology law matters in Southlake, Texas. We represent companies in software audit matters initiated by the major publishers including Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Autodesk and many others. My team has combined experience of over 50 years defending software audits and I spend…
Software publishers have increasingly identified software audits as potential revenue-generating exercises, which has led to a rise in the number of companies targeted. Small, medium, and large companies all need to be aware that a software audit can result in extensive time and unbudgeted financial expenditures. Software audits may be initiated by publishers or through…
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,…
Most software audits eventually reach a point after all the deployment and license data has been collected when the auditors – often employees of an accounting firm like Deloitte or KPMG, though sometimes the publishers’ own internal audit teams – present their draft audit findings to the audited business. At that stage, the auditors then…
More than 90 percent of software audits initiated by software publishers or representative entities, such as the Business Software Alliance (“BSA”) and Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”), are settled out of court after negotiating a final settlement payment and terms. Although there are a number of factors that affect an ultimate resolution, timing of…
Most software audits initiated by the software publisher or a third party entity authorized to pursue copyright infringement claims on behalf of the software publishers, such as the BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”) or the Software & Industry Information Association (“SIIA”), are resolved outside of a courtroom. Many of the settlements require payment of a…
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…
Obvious though it may sound, in almost every software audit the most crucial element contributing to a positive outcome is an accurate inventory of what software is deployed. Unfortunately, far too many businesses faced with an audit end up receiving grossly over-inflated compliance-purchase demands, because the inventory data received by the auditors and used to…
Software publishers regularly audit their customers to help ensure that the customers are properly licensing their software. Some software publishers conduct audits directly, but many choose to audit through companies such as the BSA| The Software Alliance (“BSA”), or the Software & Information Industry Association (“SIIA”). The first step in addressing the software audit is…
