Fast was set up by the British Computer Society’s Copyright Committee in 1984 when its first goal was to raise the awareness of software piracy, and to lobby parliament for changes in the Copyright Act 1956 to reflect the needs of software authors and publishers and end users.
Fast said its Software Publishers Group will draw up a standardized Fast-compliant license to benefit end users. Members of the Software Publishers Group include Oracle and McAfee, as well as smaller companies such as MRO Software UK, Sx3, and TargetFour. The group said it will also enlist the support of Fast’s Certified Reseller Group, to ensure it understands end-user requirements.
Once complete, Fast said documentation will be issued with Software Publishing Group members’ software, showing that it meets the kitemark license standard.
Director general of Fast, John Lovelock, said: We recognize that the industry must be proactive in helping end users to comply with copyright laws. By combining the strengths of our software publishers and certified resellers we will be able to tackle the issue head on and ensure that the core criteria are established for any software license. Software users will then have a simple and straightforward set of guidelines setting out exactly what their rights are.
Other recent initiatives from Fast include a campaign last November to encourage enterprises to comply with font-licensing terms. The Federation commissioned its own bespoke font for its logo to help to draw attention to the fact that many enterprises take font licensing less than seriously. Also in November, Fast started a telemarketing campaign in the supply chain management sector to increase awareness of the legal ramifications of software misuse.
