The decisions in QAD Inc v Shepparton Partners Collective Operations Pty Ltd [2021] FCA 615 and Shepparton Partners Collective Operations Pty Ltd v QAD Inc [2021] FCAFC 206 concern copyright infringement of unlicensed software following the sale of a business where the purchaser continued to use third party software without securing a transfer of the relevant software licence agreement. The cases highlight the importance of properly reviewing and considering the terms of software licence agreements, and ensuring software is properly licensed particularly in the circumstances of a sale of business.

For further information generally on:

• The legal protection of computer software, see Practice note, Intellectual property protection of software.
• Copyright and copyright infringement in Australia, see Practice notes, Copyright and Copyright infringement.
• Software licensing and maintenance and software licence disputes, see Practice notes, Software licensing and maintenance and Software licence disputes.
• Practical Law's resources relating to asset acquisitions (for example, pre-transaction considerations, the asset purchase process and post-completion matters), including links to the relevant resources, see Toolkit, Asset acquisitions.