[IG_Semmelweiss]

>>> You can’t expect the buyer of a software to assume responsibility for copyright violations

Yes you can. Certainly true in the US. Liability depends on state law and in how the contract is written. If the buyer did not specifically make that carve out, a judge may end up deciding.

If the seller specifically carved that in, the buyer can be liable too (along with the seller).

This is why most government entities are difficult to contract with. They have buyers that insist in specific contract language. Govt entities have templates preapproved by lawyers to prevent this sort of thing coming back to haunt them. So if you want to do business with the govt, that's the hoops you will need to jump over.