The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) is a

not-for-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, formed in 1984 with the aim of eliminating

copyright infringement of software Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

in the UK. FAST was the world's first

Anti-piracy Anti-piracy may refer to: * Anti-piracy, protection against copying of computer software. * Piracy#Anti-piracy measures anti-piracy measures, measures to counter maritime pirates. See also * Pirate (disambiguation) A pirate is a person who com ...

organisation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

to work on protecting the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

s of

software publisher A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined (and indeed, may reside in a single person, especially in the case ...

s. Initially concentrating on lobbying parliament to revise

Copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

, FAST also prosecutes organisations and individuals for copyright infringement on behalf of its members and publicises the legal penalties and

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

risks. Prior to the agreement with FAST, Investors in Software were a

limited by guarantee with a mission to support and advance professionalism in Software Asset Management and related IT asset management, to enable individuals and organisations to improve effectiveness and efficiency. As a direct result of their work the ISO SAM ISO 19770 standard was successfully launched in May 2006.

History

In September 2008 FAST and Investors in Software signed an exclusive agreement to operate under the Federation name to strengthen and clarify the advice given to the end user community relating to best practice for Software Asset Management (SAM) and achieving cost efficient licence compliance. The new organisation will operate under the name FAST IiS. In May 2008 FAST IiS launched an initiative with the aim of making it easier for end users to manage their

software licensing A software license is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract law, with or without printed material) governing the use or redistribution of software. Under United States copyright law, all software is copyright protected, in both source c ...

requirements to contain costs and ensure effective '' Software Asset Management / software licence management'' encompassing compliance, the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB), was formed in consultation with five of the tier one software vendors. FAST IiS remains a

limited by guarantee and wholly owned by its members who include

resellers A reseller is a company or individual (merchant) that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit (but can be done at a loss). One example can be found in the ...

, distributors, SAM practitioners and

law firms A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

. FAST IiS works to champion the professional management of software and protect members’ rights. Since its inception FAST has successfully lobbied for changes in the software IP system in the UK and EU through its dealings with the

UK Intellectual Property Office The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (often referred to as the UK IPO) is, since 2 April 2007, the operating name of The Patent Office. It is the official government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK ...

. FAST's lobbying efforts brought about amendments to the Copyright Act 1956, culminating in software being recognised as a literary work. In 2007 FAST, with the Alliance Against IP Theft, was successful in pushing for the implementation of Section 107A Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and having IP crime as a measurement on the National Policing Safety Plan.{{Cite web, url=http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/02/20/221930/government-gets-tough-on-software-compliance.htm, title=Government gets tough on software compliance

References

External links

* http://www.fast.org/ Information technology organisations based in the United Kingdom Software patent law Computer security organizations Organizations established in 1984