Trading Standards officers will soon have powers to
check companies' software licences without warning, the government
has confirmed.
Trade and industry minister Malcolm Wicks said last week that
from 6 April, new powers under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act will be
at the disposal of Trading Standards, backed by £5m of
funding.
The decision is in line with a key recommendation of the
government-commissioned Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, and
has been lobbied for by the Federation Against Software Theft
(Fast) and other supplier-backed bodies.
Fast said that Trading Standards would now have a duty to
investigate copyright offences, and could enter workplaces to
inspect software licences with no warrants or prior notice
needed.
Any successful civil action against a company may also result in
damages greater than the subsequent cost of purchasing the correct
number of licences, said Fast.
John Lovelock, director general of Fast, said, "Bringing into
force Section 107A will make enforcement of copyright the
responsibility of Trading Standards and, in theory, give
enforcement officers the right to conduct a software inspection
regime. It is time for organisations to get their software
compliance with the law addressed."
Screw to tighten on software misuse
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