5 years ago...IMIS calls for software licensing rethink

09.02.99: A leading IT association is calling for the modernisation of current software licensing laws. Speaking at a conference in London yesterday, the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS) told delegates that laws should be revised to make it easier for software to be copied in certain circumstances. The association claims it was aware that higher ranks of corporate management regularly copied software - undermining the authority of the current law.

IMIS chief executive, Ian Rickwood, told silicon.com: "When it comes to property rights, copyright protection spanning 70 years is too long for the IT industry." The association is suggesting that protection be limited to a short term patent, to allow people to take older copies of software home.

A spokesman for Microsoft's piracy division said he could not see the logic in the suggestion. "The only software that gets illegally copied is the newest versions anyway - so patents will still prevent copying. There is no need to take a copyright off software because people don't want the older versions," he said.

But Rickwood disagreed: "Not everyone wants the latest version of everything. Software companies like Microsoft are worried they could lose revenue if copyrights are lifted, thus eliminating the incentive to upgrade constantly to newer versions of their products."

09.02.04: Software licensing, and its complexity, is still one of the leading bugbears of IT managers and IT directors of firms small and large.

Maybe the era of utility 'pay-as-you-go' computing and 'software on demand' will yet come to the rescue.