Lori,
I think you are dealing with two different purposes for the retention
of the software.  The most obvious is the operational need.  Generally
the software must be kept as long as there is data generated by that
software (but of course there are many variables to this as well).  The
second need is Trademark/Copyright which you alluded to at the end of
your post.  This might be a little trickier. First you need to know how
the Trademark/Copyright laws apply to your organization; and, then you
need to understand what time frame is in your organization's best
interest.  This is where you balance the ideal retention time against
the perceived benefit  - a risk management decision.

You need to do some legal research; and you need to have a talk with
your legal department.
Good luck,
Mary



Mary W. Haider,CRM
Records Manager
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Mailstop B4.T46
847-535-1560

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