FAST join the Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum
One of our aims at FAST is to strengthen the rights of Software owners. As part of that vision we are making new steps to get in front of parliamentarians, influencers and policy makers to help our members have a say in new initiatives and potential regulation.
Is Your Software IP Really Your IP?
What is in Your Software? In the age of modern software development, developers share and contribute the source code of libraries, components and frameworks on code sharing websites such as GitHub and npm. These components are typically shared under an open source software licence. This enables other developers to re-use these components on other projects and, means they do […]
IP Conflicts in Technical Due Diligence
By Holly Wyld, Governance Specialist at Source Code Control Ltd Third-Party Software in M&A If an E-Commerce cloud solution contained 27 open source licences, two of which require the entire source code to the solution to be made available, 53 copyright statements, 29 critical risk security vulnerabilities and all licence obligations are currently not met […]
FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – January 2023
In this newsletter we explore some recent developments in Cyber Security guidance for organisations following recent ICO enforcement action, and the regulatory impact on the UK crypto market following the collapse of FTX. We also consider some key judgments in recent case law including the long-awaited decision on the U.S. Navy v GmBH software piracy […]
The legal importance of IP for small and medium-sized businesses within the UK
Hana Hassanbek – Brandsmiths Background Protecting Intellectual Property (IP) is one of the most valuable assets for any business. IP protection is vital for growth and innovation of a business. Incorporating IP into business strategy allows firms to distinguish themselves from competitors and creates a brand identity. It also adds significant value to a business […]
Whistle-blower’s claims lead to £48,500 of software recoveries at Scottish employment agency
FAST urges people to report software misuse The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) is urging employees who have real concerns over the misuse of software in the working environment, to report it. This call to action follows recent research from the charity Public Concern at Work, which found that three out of four whistle-blowers, who […]
Federation Against Software Theft warns of uncertainties of second-hand software
FAST issues “buyer beware” warning Legal issues relating to Second Hand Software have been attracting attention for some time now. Those issues appear to sit in a developing area of law and it is difficult to anticipate where the law will finally settle. This happens at a time that FAST has had to terminate […]
HR policies need to address the issue of software compliance
Warning from FAST comes as leading training company found to be under-licensed by £28,000 The Federation Against Software Theft has urged HR directors to educate employees and update corporate software usage policies after it recently recovered over £28,000 in revenue from under licenses at a leading UK skills and training provider. The company, TLE is […]
FAST Legal Update Member Bulletin – September 2022
In this newsletter we explore some of the most prevalent updates in recent months, includingsome of the various publications released by the UK Government. This includes the UKGovernment’s proposals on regulating online safety which has recently been delayed, and theintroduction of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill which will notably amend UK dataprotection legislation […]
Legal & Government Affairs Update September 2020
Global Privacy Expectations of Video Teleconference Providers Whilst the use of Video Teleconferencing (VTC) services isn’t novel or ground-breaking, we have seen an exponential growth in their usage across all sectors in the wake of COVID-19. Greater usage has resulted in increased sharing of personal information, which is particularly pertinent in the healthcare sector where […]