[qes]

> It would be like the police turning up to your house and demanding you have a receipt for every item in your house. Any item you do not have a receipt for is assumed to be stolen and you have to pay for it. The burden of proof is placed on you to prove you did not steal it. Normally the burden of proof is on the police to prove you have stolen, suddenly it has been turned upside down.

So, under what legal authority can Oracle or Microsoft or Red Hat or IBM _force_ you to submit to an audit?

[lmm]

It's in the contract you sign with them to get their software in the first place.

(Of course, if you're smart you don't. I worked for a place that had a sales pitch from Oracle, wanted to use their product, but cut off all contact once our lawyers got a look at the contract they were proposing)