About Us

Helping the software ecosystem protect their IP

Promoting the legal use of software

The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) is a not-for-profit organisation which has been in existence for nearly four decades with the vision to defend the intellectual property rights of software publishers. Today our role has evolved in parallel with the evolution of Software-as-a Service and today much of our work is legal and advisory services to both legal professionals and ambitious growing software companies who value and wish to protect their intellectual property (IP). 

Our role

Education

Founded in 1984, FAST - originally known as the ‘Software Police’, have since broadened into educating business users about software laws and raising awareness of intellectual property value to the UK economy. 

Professional Services

Working with our IP legal professional members we support B2B software companies who need to ensure their IP is respected and protected. It is important to ensure adequate protection and education reflects the changing procurement of business software.

Anti-Piracy

We accept reports on behalf of software vendors from the largest to the smallest which will be followed up to ensure the software is in licensed appropriately.

Join us

If you are a software company or a professional service company working in this sector, learn more about becoming a member 

Become a Member

Our Evolution

Our role has changed over the years – founded to combat the misuse of business software, we are now play more of an advocacy role 

1984

Foundation of the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) in response to a growing misuse of business software licences.

1984
2007

After 13 years of campaigning by FAST, section 107A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 came into force, offering greater impact and protection to software vendors whose IP had been infringed. 

2007
2007

Federation embarks on ground-breaking project with Trading Standards cold calling on software resellers using their powers under the Trade Marks Act 1994.

2007
2009

The first UK Software Management and Licencing Conference was held by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB). The conference targeted the commercial and technical challenges of effectively managing software.

2009
2010

Research carried out by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB) revealed that 98% of businesses questioned were failing to utilise Software Asset Management (SAM) 

2010
2012

FAST and the American organisation the Software and Information Industries Association (SIIA) joined forces against software theft in the UK, Europe and the USAS. 2013

2012
2015

FAST worked with Microsoft and other large software vendors to deliver an enforcement programme delivering damages back to the rights holders. 

2015
Today

FAST continues to work with the software vendor community delivering programmes and education via a legal community to inform and educate businesses who need to protect their Intellectual Property 

Today

Meet the Team

Peter Allan

Chairman of the Board of the Federation Against Software Theft

Peter Allan

Chairman of the Board of the Federation

Peter was one of the first Computer Science graduates in the UK and holds postgraduate degrees in Computer Science and Psychology.

Having worked initially as a University lecturer, then in Senior IT roles Peter started his first business in the 1980’s. This company eventually became part of a group which did a very successful full stock market listing. Peter returned to the SME world in 2002, turnaround a failing IT business, successfully doing a high value Trade sale.
Peter has his own property business both in the UK and mainland Europe.

Dawn Osborne

Legal Counsel and Chair of FAST Legal Advisory Group

Dawn Osborne

Counsel & Chair of FAST Legal Advisory Group

Oxbridge educated, Dawn Osborne has over 30 years’ experience as an IP lawyer, having qualified in the City and has been a partner for over twenty years in top tier IP boutique firms. She is primarily involved in litigation, advice and mediation. She has been consistently ranked in the Legal 500 for her IP work. She has recently been recommended as an IP STAR by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine based on client or peer reviews. She was given an award by INTA the international trade mark association for an outstanding contribution to the organisation.

Dawn’s extensive expertise covers trademarks, copyright, designs, internet law and confidentiality/privacy. She is a board member of the Federation Against Software Theft and head of FLAG their legal action group, a qualified CI Arb Mediator and an INTA neutral. She has a particular reputation as an Internet lawyer being an expert in domain name resolution for WIPO, NAF, Nominet and for the .eu and UDRP procedures of the CAC and extensive experience in entertainment (publishing, music, film, theatre and sport), media, fashion, and luxury goods including high end jewellery, watches and motor vehicles. She has a national and international reputation and made partner in 2000 when she was seven years qualified. She is a Solicitor Advocate and in her spare time has studied history of art, world arts and culture and anthropology and edited the magazine of a major British museum. Personable and down to earth her interest in music has spun off into a regular radio show where she has interviewed rock legends such as Suzi Quatro and Steve Hackett of Genesis. She has lectured at international conferences with audiences as large as 5000.

Highlights

  • Acting as an expert in UK copyright law in US proceedings involving Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
  • Leading Partner for successful case in the Court of Appeal for BMW against Technosport.
  • Leading Partner for successful High Court case Oran v Oranmore
  • Author of the UK Chapter of the Oxford University Press publication and text book ‘Domain Name Law and Practice: an international handbook.’

Richard Atkinson

Board Member

Richard Atkinson

Board Member

Broadly recognized as an expert in building a comprehensive business-oriented response to product piracy, Richard used to lead Adobe’s company-wide strategy to expand the business through conversion from piracy. This includes guiding the efforts to “understand” the pirate-consumer’s activities and attitudes, suppressing piracy through corrective actions, and competing better with piracy through increased value proposition across all elements of the business. A C-level executive with 25+ years leading world-class teams, Richard’s prior roles included developing Disney’s global business response to piracy, CTO and technology innovator for famed Walt Disney Imagineering, CIO for Walt Disney Studios, Chief Communications Technologist for defence giant Northrop Grumman, and CSO for Electronic Arts focused on cyber-threat. An accomplished keynote speaker and spokesperson for industry on technical innovation, product security, and cyber security, Richard also served as a White House and NSC briefer to multiple presidential administrations and top foreign leaders.

Dai Davis

Principal Percy Crow Davis & Co Ltd

Dai Davis

Principal Percy Crow Davis & Co Ltd

Dai Davis is a Technology Lawyer.  He practices as a solicitor but is also a qualified Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.  Dai has consistently been recommended in the Legal 500 and in Chambers Guides to the Legal Profession for over 25 years.  He has two master degrees: one in Physics, the other in Computer Science. 

Having been national head of Intellectual Property Law and later national head of Information Technology law at Eversheds for a number of years, Dai has for over a decade been a partner in his own specialist law practice, Percy Crow Davis & Co.  Dai advises clients throughout the country on intellectual property, computer and technology law subjects.  A third “super specialism” that Dai has practised for over two decades is high-tech product safety, including railway safety and advising on the CE Marking and product recall.  He has expertise in how Brexit affects intellectual property law, information technology law and product safety law. 

He is primarily a non-contentious lawyer, advising clients on technology-related commercial agreements.  Being a technologist, Dai often works with clients who are involved in cutting edge technologies.  He works with many IT security businesses and has been elected as a trustee of the United Kingdom Cyber Security Council. 

In addition to being a non-executive director of FAST (The Federation Against Software Theft), Dai is a Liveryman of the City of London through the WCIT (Worshipful Company of Information Technologists).  He has been a Council member of the Licensing Executives Society of the United Kingdom, the body of professionals dealing in intellectual property licensing, for more than two decades.  He is widely published and an experienced public speaker.  He has spoken at many technology conferences.  He can be contacted on 07785 771 721 or mail@daidavis.com. 

Alex Hilton

Director

Alex Hilton

Chief Executive, FAST – Federation Against Software Theft

Alex has been the Chief Executive of FAST for 10 years. He spent over 3 decades working in senior toles in the IT industry. Following his completion of ICL’s graduate training scheme Alex moved to US software publisher Borland, managing the emerging retail business as IT superstores were established in the UK.
He then spent 12 years at Microsoft, joining in 1994, gaining diverse experience within the organisation, from Enterprise sales through to Channel management.

In November 2003 Alex moved from running the £500m UK Channel Distribution business to run Microsoft’s anti-piracy and Software Asset Management (SAM) teams. This role incorporated Microsoft’s anti-counterfeiting efforts through to corporate governance and working with influential third parties such as government ministers and pan-industry organisations to help draw attention to the scale of software piracy. As head of the UK SAM business, Alex ran a team of compliance and audit professionals as well as supporting the development of an ISO standard driving commercial awareness for intellectual property protection.

In 2006 Alex joined Centennial Software as world-wide head of sales; a fast growing UK business developing software for the compliance and SAM market. He saw the business through to acquisition by FrontRange Solutions in 2008. Alex stayed in the merged businesses as Director of Infrastructure Management.

In 2010 Alex joined Fasthosts Internet with direct accountability as Managing Director of Rise – their Cloud IaaS hosting proposition aimed at Channel Partners. Alex developed the Rise proposition to a profitable recurring revenue stream and in 2011 Rise was awarded Microsoft’s prestigious prize of world-wide Hosting Partner of the Year.

In February 2013 Alex joined FAST as Chief Executive. He had been serving as non-Executive Director since 2008.

Outside of work, Alex is married with four children, a keen cyclist, skier and real tennis player.

Tony Ford

Director Fordlaw Limited

Tony Ford

Director Fordlaw Limited

Tony joined us in the summer of 2015. After studying for two degrees in law over 4 years at Cambridge University, Tony qualified as a solicitor some 36 years ago, and has practised on IT industry related matters ever since. Most recently, Tony held a dedicated global legal role with TCS, aligned specifically with a new digital software group. Before TCS, Tony practised for nearly 35 years as an IBM UK lawyer; during the last 15 years of his IBM time, Tony was the General Legal counsel responsible for support to IBM’s prestige Hursley software development laboratory near Winchester, where he worked closely with IBM’s IP Law Department.

Today, as well as his FAST directorship, Tony is a legal consultant to OpenForum Europe, and he is also providing legal consultancy (through Jurit LLP) for a global IT manufacturer. Born in France, Tony also speaks French in addition to his (rather rusty) German.

Richard Hales

Board Member

Richard Hales

Board Member

Richard’s work with The Federation compliments more than 20 years software industry experience, primarily in enterprise sales and marketing roles. Richard is currently Enterprise Account Director, for Coupa Software, a disruptive business spend management (Source to Pay) company making cost control, compliance and anything spend management related easier and more effective. (coupa.com). Prior to Coupa, Richard held roles with openText, Dell EMC, F-Secure, TechData and Autodesk

Having graduated with a BSc from the Open University and subsequently completed a MBA also with the Open University, Richard, originally from Manchester, now lives with his family in West Sussex www.linkedin.com/in/richardhales

Julian Heathcote Hobbins

IP Enforcement Solicitor

Julian Heathcote Hobbins

Solicitor with IP enforcement interest.

Graduating with joint honours from University of Kent Canterbury, subsequently completing training at The College of Law, Guildford.
Articled at Reading law firm, Field Seymour Parkes, after working on ACID Intellectual Property matters at London practice, Theodore Goddard (Addleshaw Goddard).

In 2001, Julian joined FAST as Legal Counsel Internet and Corporate Investigations. Promoted in 2008 to General Counsel with a cloud computing brief. 2003 – 2020 Deputy Chairman FAST Legal Advisory Group (FLAG) on government affairs. Non-Executive FAST Board member.
End user software license compliance, piracy investigations, working with law enforcement and like-minded bodies to reduce IP crime.
World Leaders IP Award for FAST – London High Court – Operation Tracker.

Join the team

Alex Hilton

Chief Executive

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and

The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) was launched by The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) to champion and help accelerate the adoption of cloud technology and services.  

See the CIF website to find out about membership and its activities supporting the cloud technology ecosystem.

Latest News

FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – January 2025

In this newsletter, we explore some recent developments in the CJEU, with the EU court ruling on copyright protection for software variables. We also consider legislative updates, with a progress update on the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and a new bill of interest in the form of the Data Use and Access Bill. This issue also covers a range of updates and action in the artificial intelligence space, including the launch of a consultation on the application of UK copyright law to the training of AI models, and new initiatives seeking to ensure the safe use of AI.
Read more

FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – September 2024

In this bulletin we delve into a variety of topics, including the outcome of the King’s Speech in the form of two new bills: the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill. This issue also covers recent cyber incidents, including the high-profile CrowdStrike outage and the cyberattack against the NHS. Finally, we turn to a recurring focus of these updates, namely developments in the artificial intelligence space; we consider potential action that may take place following DSIT’s call for evidence and the EU AI Act now having entered into force.
Read more

FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – May 2024

In this bulletin we delve into a variety of topics, including the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Parker-Grennan v Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, the perils of generative AI in the court room and the disruption of LockBit, a well-known ransomware enterprise. Also discussed are what the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (‘DPDI Bill’) might mean for the UK and its future ‘adequacy’ in an EU data protection context. Finally we turn to the government’s response to a call for views on software risks for businesses and organisations.
Read more

FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – December 2023

We have focussed much of this edition on recent developments in AI law. There have been two important cases on AI which we have explored below: Emotional Perception AI Ltd v Comptroller General (Is AI a computer program for the purposes of the Patent Act 1977?), and Thaler v Comptroller General (Can AI be an inventor?). There have also been some important legislative developments in AI since my last bulletin. So, we will also look at the EU AI Act and at the AI Bill going through Parliament at the moment. On the privacy front we look at YouTube’s ad block being a breach of EU privacy law.
Read more

FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – September 2023

In this newsletter, we explore an update in the important copyright case of Wright & Ors v BTC Core & Ors, where a High Court decision was reversed; and the case of Meta Platforms Inc. v Bundeskartellamt, which imposed requirements in relation to the interpretation of the GDPR. This is followed by a summary of the updates to the Online Safety Bill which is currently making its way through parliament. Finally, we look at the UK’s Product Security and Telecommunication Act, as well as a High Court order awarded to Sky.
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