A question that comes up daily at SIIA is: What is proper documentation to show my company’s software is licensed?  There are several acceptable ways to demonstrate that your company’s software is properly licensed.

Dated licenses issued by the software publisher are always the best evidence of licensure.  However, if those are not available, your company should locate dated invoices, purchase orders, receipts, or packing slips issued by legitimate software vendors identifying the name and quantity of software purchased and the date of purchase.

Alternatively, if your company routinely purchases its software through the same reseller, the reseller should be able to provide your purchase history.  This history should include the name and quantity of the software sold and the date it was purchased.  More...

Vector-based graphics, or “clip art,” seems to be ubiquitous on the Internet.  Some users mistakenly believe that most or all clip art they see online is in the “public domain” and can be freely copied and used.  And some web sites perpetuate that belief by repackaging and selling clip art on CDs or other media for cut-rate prices, touting the “convenience” of having a wide variety of clip art images compiled (sometimes by theme) on a single source.

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A question I often times hear when discussing “backing up” ones software is:  “How many “back ups” am I allowed to make?”   And as the great Hip Hop legends, Run-DMC, once rapped It's Tricky!

To me making a “back up” or an archival copy of any software program that I have licensed should be a no-brainer.  I do not want to have to worry about any issues if my computer crashes or gets stolen, I want to be sure that I have “back ups” for emergency purposes.  However, where it gets confusing is if I have multiple “back ups”, which I am sure is why the question is asked in the first place.  Typically organizations will have an onsite “back up” of all software programs, while in addition have additional “back ups” at an offsite facility for disaster planning and recovery.  And these disaster planning and testing sites are what can throw a wrench into the issue of “how many “back ups” am I allowed to have” of software programs. More...

If your company is planning to purchase another company’s assets, it would pay to do your due diligence. Most companies are aware of the many hoops they must jump through in order to acquire another company or at the very least will consult an attorney about how to do so. However, there is one step that is frequently overlooked during this process: software compliance and the proper transfer of software licenses.

During my tenure at SIIA, I have audited hundreds of companies that have all made the same unfortunate mistake. They did not establish whether the seller’s company was software compliant or obtain proper transfer of their software licenses during a merger or acquisition. It is unfortunate because the purchaser finds themselves using unlicensed software and potentially facing fines and costly litigation.

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