Federation against software theft (FAST) is a non profit anti-piracy organization founded in 1984 with an intention of eradicating software copyright infringement. FAST aims to protect the copyrights of software publishers.
The Federation against software theft was established in 1984 by the British Computing Society’s copyright committee. The committee was successful in lobbying the parliament to make certain changes to the copyright Act 1956. In 1986, FAST’s had nearly 100 members and the British government published a green paper for the first time on Copyright and Patent Law. A year later, the copyright, designs and patents act received royal assent. FAST prosecutes organizations and individuals involved in copyright infringement by levying legal penalties. The federation’s aim is to minimize the level of software theft. In September 2008, FAST and Investors in Software, two of the most respected independent names in the UK software industry joined together and signed an agreement to strengthen and clarify the advice given to the end user community relating to best practice for software Asset management (SAM) and also to achieve cost efficient license compliance. The new organization was then named as FAST IiS, which is also a non profit organization entirely owned by its members including software publishers, resellers, distributors, SAM practitioners and law firms. The FAST IiS now pioneers in setting consistent standards, best practices and simplifies messaging worldwide. It encourages SAM best practices by the end users through knowledge sharing, impartial and informed advice and education.
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