Autodesk license compliance audits: Difference between revisions

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== Background ==

Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale. In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010),<ref name="vernor-cl" /> the U.~~S. Court of Appeals~~ for the Ninth Circuit held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, ~~applying a three-factor test that turns on whether the copyright owner grants a license, restricts transfer, & imposes use restrictions.<ref name="vernor" /> Because the user is a licensee,~~ the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) ~~& the essential-step defense~~ (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)) do not apply, so reselling or copying the software without authorization infringes Autodesk's copyright.<ref name="vernor" /> Timothy Vernor, a reseller of used AutoCAD Release 14, had brought the declaratory-judgment action himself after Autodesk sent DMCA takedown notices over his eBay auctions; a federal district court ruled in his favor, & the Ninth Circuit reversed for Autodesk in 2010.<ref name="vernor" />

Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. That rule was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so in 2007 Vernor sued Autodesk to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle first ruled for Vernor, but on appeal in 2010 the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk and reversed that decision.<ref name="vernor" /> The court held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, so the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply. The practical result: a person who buys Autodesk software cannot legally resell it, and installing a copy without a valid license infringes Autodesk's copyright (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />

[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit ~~held~~ that ~~Autodesk's~~ customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies, so ~~they~~ cannot resell the software ~~or rely on the first-sale doctrine~~.<ref name="vernor" />]]

[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk, ruling that its customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies and so cannot resell the software.<ref name="vernor" />]]

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An earlier generation of the agreement, Autodesk's fiscal-year 2017 License and Services Agreement, put the audit in Autodesk's hands rather than the customer's and expressly allowed it to be conducted ''"electronic or otherwise"''. Section 9.7 gave Autodesk the right, on 15 days' notice, to inspect the customer's records, systems, & facilities:

<blockquote>''As part of any such audit, Autodesk or its authorized representative will have the right, on fifteen (15) days' prior notice to Licensee, to inspect Licensee's records, systems and facilities, including machine IDs, serial numbers and related information, to verify Licensee's Installation of and Access to the Autodesk Materials.''</blockquote><ref name="lsa17" />

The same clause required the licensee to provide ''"full cooperation"''<ref name="lsa17" /> and, on a finding of noncompliance, to buy licenses to cure & ''"pay the reasonable costs of the audit"''.<ref name="lsa17" />

The same clause required the licensee to provide ''"full cooperation"''<ref name="lsa17" /> and, on a finding of noncompliance, to buy licenses to cure & ''"pay the reasonable costs of the audit"''.<ref name="lsa17" /> Autodesk shifted the audit onto the customer in a 2021 revision of its General Terms. A version archived on March 8, 2021 required the customer, on an audit request, to ''"provide a report to Autodesk using an Autodesk approved verification tool"'' within 15 days, in place of the earlier model in which Autodesk conducted the inspection itself.<ref name="gt-2021" />

[[File:Autodesk-LSA-FY17-audit-clause.png|thumb|center|upright=2.8|Section 9.7 of Autodesk's fiscal-year 2017 License and Services Agreement gave Autodesk the right to audit a customer ''"electronic or otherwise"'' and, on a finding of noncompliance, to make the customer buy licenses and pay the costs of the audit.<ref name="lsa17" />]]

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<ref name="gt17">{{Cite web |url=https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms |title=General Terms |author=Autodesk, Inc. |date=2026-03-30 |website=Autodesk |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>

<ref name="gt-2021">{{Cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102410/https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms |title=General Terms |author=Autodesk, Inc. |date=2021-03-08 |publisher=Autodesk, via Internet Archive |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>

<ref name="lsa17">{{Cite web |url=https://download.autodesk.com/us/FY17/Suites/LSA/en-us/lsa.html |title=Autodesk License and Services Agreement (FY17) |author=Autodesk, Inc. |website=Autodesk |access-date=2026-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260706065432/https://download.autodesk.com/us/FY17/Suites/LSA/en-us/lsa.html |archive-date=2026-07-06 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="ss-scan">{{Cite web |url=https://scottandscottllp.com/autodesk-audits-how-to-effectively-scan-your-network-and-prepare-accurate-results/ |title=Autodesk Audits: How to Effectively Scan Your Network and Prepare Accurate Results |publisher=Scott & Scott, LLP |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>

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 == Background ==
-Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale. In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010),<ref name="vernor-cl" /> the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, applying a three-factor test that turns on whether the copyright owner grants a license, restricts transfer, & imposes use restrictions.<ref name="vernor" /> Because the user is a licensee, the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) & the essential-step defense (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)) do not apply, so reselling or copying the software without authorization infringes Autodesk's copyright.<ref name="vernor" /> Timothy Vernor, a reseller of used AutoCAD Release 14, had brought the declaratory-judgment action himself after Autodesk sent DMCA takedown notices over his eBay auctions; a federal district court ruled in his favor, & the Ninth Circuit reversed for Autodesk in 2010.<ref name="vernor" />
+Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. That rule was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so in 2007 Vernor sued Autodesk to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle first ruled for Vernor, but on appeal in 2010 the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk and reversed that decision.<ref name="vernor" /> The court held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, so the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply. The practical result: a person who buys Autodesk software cannot legally resell it, and installing a copy without a valid license infringes Autodesk's copyright (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />
-[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit held that Autodesk's customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies, so they cannot resell the software or rely on the first-sale doctrine.<ref name="vernor" />]]
+[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk, ruling that its customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies and so cannot resell the software.<ref name="vernor" />]]
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 An earlier generation of the agreement, Autodesk's fiscal-year 2017 License and Services Agreement, put the audit in Autodesk's hands rather than the customer's and expressly allowed it to be conducted ''"electronic or otherwise"''. Section 9.7 gave Autodesk the right, on 15 days' notice, to inspect the customer's records, systems, & facilities:
 <blockquote>''As part of any such audit, Autodesk or its authorized representative will have the right, on fifteen (15) days' prior notice to Licensee, to inspect Licensee's records, systems and facilities, including machine IDs, serial numbers and related information, to verify Licensee's Installation of and Access to the Autodesk Materials.''</blockquote><ref name="lsa17" />
-The same clause required the licensee to provide ''"full cooperation"''<ref name="lsa17" /> and, on a finding of noncompliance, to buy licenses to cure & ''"pay the reasonable costs of the audit"''.<ref name="lsa17" />
+The same clause required the licensee to provide ''"full cooperation"''<ref name="lsa17" /> and, on a finding of noncompliance, to buy licenses to cure & ''"pay the reasonable costs of the audit"''.<ref name="lsa17" /> Autodesk shifted the audit onto the customer in a 2021 revision of its General Terms. A version archived on March 8, 2021 required the customer, on an audit request, to ''"provide a report to Autodesk using an Autodesk approved verification tool"'' within 15 days, in place of the earlier model in which Autodesk conducted the inspection itself.<ref name="gt-2021" />
 [[File:Autodesk-LSA-FY17-audit-clause.png|thumb|center|upright=2.8|Section 9.7 of Autodesk's fiscal-year 2017 License and Services Agreement gave Autodesk the right to audit a customer ''"electronic or otherwise"'' and, on a finding of noncompliance, to make the customer buy licenses and pay the costs of the audit.<ref name="lsa17" />]]
@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 <references>
 <ref name="gt17">{{Cite web |url=https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms |title=General Terms |author=Autodesk, Inc. |date=2026-03-30 |website=Autodesk |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>
+<ref name="gt-2021">{{Cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102410/https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms |title=General Terms |author=Autodesk, Inc. |date=2021-03-08 |publisher=Autodesk, via Internet Archive |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>
 <ref name="lsa17">{{Cite web |url=https://download.autodesk.com/us/FY17/Suites/LSA/en-us/lsa.html |title=Autodesk License and Services Agreement (FY17) |author=Autodesk, Inc. |website=Autodesk |access-date=2026-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260706065432/https://download.autodesk.com/us/FY17/Suites/LSA/en-us/lsa.html |archive-date=2026-07-06 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 <ref name="ss-scan">{{Cite web |url=https://scottandscottllp.com/autodesk-audits-how-to-effectively-scan-your-network-and-prepare-accurate-results/ |title=Autodesk Audits: How to Effectively Scan Your Network and Prepare Accurate Results |publisher=Scott & Scott, LLP |access-date=2026-07-06}}</ref>