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. 

On the other hand, jewel cases, packaging materials, photocopies of diskettes and unregistered serial numbers do not evidence licensure.  This is because none of these things indicate with specificity that the company was licensed to use the software.  They do not indicate the name of the purchaser, seller or the date the license was granted.

The bottom line: if a company were audited by a software publisher or by an enforcement agency, they will be looking to establish the date that the copyright owner granted permission to use the work.  Dated license documentation or purchase documentation will normally suffice.