Re: Software Audit

Richard Turner:

I have not personally had any experience with a Software Publishers Association (SPA) "audit" ("raid" is such a harsh word), but a colleague who practices computer and copyright law has offered some suggestions in a continuing legal education (CLE) program, and I'm paraphrasing them for your information.

First, top-level management and counsel should be contacted immediately and stay in touch during the raid. Most importantly, don't panic, keep calm and make sure no one makes any threats. Counsel may represent the client on the scene and you may ask questions of the U.S. marshals, SPA attorneys and computer consultants, but don't expect many answers.

The client should not volunteer any information. If the auditors ask for permission to take computers, don't give it because they usually ask permission only if they need it, and they may take the computers anyway. Keep track of the effect of the raid on the client, in terms of work hours lost, deadlines missed and any other quantifiable disruption, which is important if the client later prevails in the lawsuit underlying the raid. To mitigate damages from the raid, get the client up and running again by renting hardware and buying additional software licenses.

After the raid, managers on the scene should meet with top management and counsel to review the facts and prepare strategies. You will probably want to issue a press release to respond to the allegations, and the same message should be comunicated to the client's employees and outside the company to avoid any appearance of a cover-up.

Most importantly, secure the services of intellectual property counsel experienced in computer and copyright matters. Thanks to my colleague Frederic Wilf, now at Philadelphia's Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul, for providing the copyrighted Philadelphia Bar CLE publication from which these suggestions were drawn. Fred is at fwilf[_at_]saul.com if you wish to consult him professionally.

Good luck.

Jeffrey Spangler, Patent Attorney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania <jtspangler[_at_]aol.com> Received on Sun Mar 24 1996 - 20:06:23 GMT