ABA Family Legal Guide

Computer Law

Computer Copyright and Trademark Issues

Copying Software and Downloading Entertainment

May I copy software from my desktop to my laptop computer and vice versa?

That depends. Some lawyers specializing in this field maintain that you are entitled to use software that you buy on both the computer you keep at your desk and on your laptop. Presumably you are not using both of these at the same time, though it gets muddier if one is for your use and one is for the use of your high schooler or spouse.

Other legal experts--many of whom represent software developers--disagree, and say each software license is for use on one machine, period. It would not hurt to read the license to see what rights the license actually does grant you, as some licenses authorize use of the software on both a home and a work computer, provided that it is not used at the same time in both places.