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Faculty/Staff - Software
Management
University of Utah Software Licensing manages campus software site licenses
and maintains a record of software that is purchased from Software Licensing
and distributed to campus organizations. But, your organization is responsible
for keeping accurate records of all installed software that has been purchased
from all sources, including Software Licensing. The following are guidelines
to help you manage software within your organization.
Q. Who is responsible for keeping software records?
A. Each college, department, or division is responsible for maintaining
accurate software records, including software acquired from Software Licensing.
An individual or position should be assigned to keep records for your organization.
Depending on your organization's policy, this person may keep records for
an entire college or a department within a college.
Every University faculty and staff member is responsible for adhering
to software copyright laws.
Q. What constitutes good software record keeping?
A. Keep accurate records! Ask yourself, "Do I have licenses for all
of the software installed on each computer in my organization?"
- Establish and maintain accurate software logs and inventories.
- Establish a baseline inventory of software already purchased.
- Conduct annual inventory reviews to reconcile purchases against inventory.
- Only purchase software from University of Utah Software Licensing or a
source that is authorized by the software publisher.
Q. What information should I keep in my software
inventory
or log?
A. The following information should be included:
- The product name, version number, and serial number of the software.
- The date and source of software acquisition.
- The location of the installation, as well as the serial number of
the hardware on which each copy of software is installed.
- The name or job title of the authorized user.
- The location of the physical installation media or web site source
if downloaded.
Q. What records are needed to prove that installed software
is legal?
A. The following may be used as proof that your software is licensed:
- Sales order/invoice receipts, packing slips specifying the product(s)
and quantity purchased.
- A letter from a manufacturer or publisher stating what software comes
with the computer as part of the purchase of hardware.
- Purchase Orders that have been approved and processed by University
Purchasing.
- Software site license agreement.
- Completed license registration cards with a stamped serial number
and date of purchase.
- Summary report from Software Licensing indicating the types and quantity
of licenses acquired through centrally managed site agreements.
- Unexpired License Agreement for shareware or freeware.
- Other documentation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If
you are in doubt, ask.
You should also keep the following materials in a safe place.
- All floppy disks, CDs or other storage media used to install the programs
on your computers
- All original manuals and reference documentation.
Q. What are some ways that I can prevent license problems?
A. Make sure that the members of your organization know that they should
observe the following rules.
- DON'T use one licensed copy to install a program on multiple computers.
- DON'T copy disks for installation and distribution.
- DON'T take advantage of upgrade offers without having a legal copy
of an earlier, upgradeable version of the software.
- DON'T swap disks in or outside of the workplace.
- DON'T use software after the expiration of the license.
- DON'T use University software at home unless the license allows such
use. (If in doubt, contact Software Licensing.)
- DON'T install software purchased for your home computer on University
computers, unless the license allows the software to be installed on
more than one machine. Most home software does not allow multiple installations.
Q. What if I don't manage software in my organization
or keep accurate software records?
A. The University is committed to obey all software copyright rules and
regulations. Several higher education organizations have been fined hundreds
of thousands of dollars for non-compliance with software license rules.
The University has adopted information resource and copyright policies,
the violation of which may result in serious individual and/or organizational
sanctions.
Civil penalties can be up to $100,000 per work for copyright infringement.
For example, 5 unlicensed copies of Microsoft Word could result in $500,000
in fines. Criminal penalties can be up to five years imprisonment, and
fines up to $250,000, or both.
Besides, it is the right thing to do!
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