Retaining And Recovering Software Licenses

When a consumer or a business purchase software, it is critical to retain the software license as proof of the rights conveyed as part of the license. One of the issues that arises during a software audit is that a) companies are using software that is many years old; b) it is difficult for the company to find the physical copy of its licenses; and c) older licenses are not always readily available online.

When a company is audited and cannot locate the software license, it is difficult to determine what audit rights the publishers have and what use rights the end users have. It is important to have access to the license agreement that governed use of the particular edition and version of the software because license metrics and terms change rapidly. If the license is missing, there are several steps the licensee can take to try to find the license;

1. Check the software media to determine whether it contains a copy of the...