Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: Primary legislation governing software copyright protection. Covers protection of software as literary work, rights of copyright holders, duration of copyright protection, and permitted acts/fair dealing provisions.
Consumer Rights Act 2015: Crucial for B2C software licenses. Addresses quality requirements, fitness for purpose, consumer protection provisions, and regulations against unfair terms.
Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR: Governs data protection requirements including data processing obligations, cross-border data transfers, and privacy requirements in software implementation.
Computer Misuse Act 1990: Addresses unauthorized access provisions and security requirements for software systems.
Contract Law (Common Law): Fundamental principles covering offer and acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, and terms and conditions in software licensing.
Competition Law: Regulates anti-competitive provisions and market abuse restrictions in software licensing agreements.
Sale of Goods Act 1979: May apply to software sales, covering quality standards and fitness for purpose requirements.
Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002: Governs electronic contracting requirements and information provisions for software distributed electronically.
Industry-specific regulations: Varying regulatory requirements depending on the industry sector where the software will be used.
Export Control Regulations: Regulations governing the export and international distribution of software products.
Intellectual Property Regulations: Additional IP-related regulations beyond copyright that may affect software licensing.
Information Security Standards: Technical and operational standards for ensuring software security and data protection compliance.
