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Employers 'must respect IT governance'
IT News |
31/08/2011
IT managers have been reminded of the importance of respecting software licensing laws and other governance requirements.
Jeremy Holt, editor of a new book from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has warned it is a criminal offence to use more than the number of copies of a software program for which a business is licensed.
He noted that IT has changed businesses in many ways, and it is important to keep up to date with what is required legally.
"It's not just the IT department that need to know this, all managers must be aware of the implications of such things as data protection and health and safety," he stated.
"New developments such as cloud computing and open source also create new legal requirements, often things that people don’t automatically consider."
Mr Holt has issued a number of other reminders about IT governance, which businesses need to bear in mind when deploying technology.
"If a freelance contractor writes a computer program for you, you do not automatically own the copyright in such program," he stated.
Mr Holt also noted that every computer contract should contain a mediation clause, and all emails must, by law, contain the full name, registered number and registered office of the company that sent it.
Employers are required to lay down a computer use policy for their staff, while businesses should have a data destruction policy for personal data.
Mr Holt said it is "a myth" that open source software cannot be used in commercial software applications.
"But it is also a myth that open source software can be used by business without agreement to software licence terms," he stated.
Meanwhile, employers are required to offer free eye tests to employees who regularly use computers during the course of their employment.
Posted by John Lynes
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