Unlicensed software audits in companies proceed through two avenues: determination of evidence in civil proceedings or law enforcement search in criminal investigations. The right holder reports the infringement, and the court renders an order. Whistleblowing generally originates from former employees, competitor companies, or the BSA (Software Alliance).

Legal basis: Article 71 of the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works No. 5846 (FSEK). Using, reproducing, or distributing unlicensed software constitutes a criminal offense. Legal entities are not subject to criminal penalties; board members and authorized signatories of the company are held personally liable.

Audit procedure steps:

  1. The right holder requests the determination of evidence pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (HMK) or files a criminal complaint with the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office under FSEK.
  2. The court or the criminal judgeship of the peace issues a search warrant. No formal service is made to the company; an ex parte raid procedure is conducted to prevent spoliation of evidence.
  3. The bailiff or police proceeds to the company premises alongside an IT expert. The search warrant is served upon the company representative.
  4. The expert inspects computers, servers, and cloud systems, cross-referencing installed software with the company’s license invoices. Forensic duplicate copies (images) of disks are taken.
  5. An inventory list and inspection minutes are drawn up; imaged devices and detected unlicensed software are recorded in the minutes.
  6. The expert submits the technical report to the court.

The consequences are severe. Under Article 71 of FSEK, imprisonment from 1 to 5 years or a judicial fine is imposed. The right holder may claim statutory compensation up to three times the fair market licensing fee under Article 68 of FSEK. The court seizes computers running pirated software, halting business operations.

Corporate defense steps:
Conduct regular internal audits. Scan all machines across the network. Immediately remove unlicensed software. Centrally archive licensing agreements and invoices. Insert “prohibition on unauthorized external software installation” clauses into employment contracts. Implement Software Asset Management (SAM).