SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT RISK 

The personal computer (PC) in your office exposes you to a tort liability risk. That risk is the chance you will be accused of breaking federal software copyright laws.

An agency can find themselves facing serious allegations of copyright violations if they don's take steps now to assure that each of us is ready to defend against copyright claims.

How do you defend against charges of software copyright violations? You do so by being innocent and being able to prove it:

There is one other potential aspect of this risk. An employee could illegally copy agency purchased software for personal use. In such an a event, that employee could face personal liability.

Personal liability could also arise for a manager who would deliberately adopt a policy of violating federal copyright laws. Prevent these personal risk. Make sure employees know that software licenses must be followed. Let them know that software licenses must be followed. Let them know the agency will not defend willful malfeasance on this issue. When employees know the facts, they will act wisely.

The copyright liability risk is potentially very severe. The laws are federal. Every computer presents an exposure to this risk. Every manager must control it.

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