U.S. companies with subsidiaries or branch offices in other countries are still responsible for compliance with software copyright law.
UK's FAST [is] Serious About Software Compliance. “…if they're using illegal stuff in the business, officers of the company … put themselves within the frame, under the Act, of prosecution." Software license responsibilities follow a company regardless of where subsidiaries and branches are located.
This applies to Open Source code for applications developed in the U.S. or outsourced to other countries. If something is illegal on company computers, the company is liable. Open Source presents unique challenges since code can come from different places. Knowing your code compliance is becoming as important as knowing your software compliance. One company offering a solution to Open Source software compliance management is Black Duck Software.
