Bruce Perens drops an interesting thought in the midst of an article about open source licensing - and I think it's worthy of discussion all on its own:

But most companies, even large ones, aren't yet completely able to cope with the implications of software licensing. At your next departmental meeting, ask how many people have clicked "Yes" on a license of a web site or software application while at work. Then, ask how many of those folks are authorized to enter into a contract on behalf of the company.

It's got to be an enormous number, especially given the number of online apps people use. Now add in the large (and growing) number of people who work remotely at least some of the time, and the problem just explodes. There's a whole web of assumptions surrounding software licenses that simply doesn't work anymore.

I'm not sure what can, or even should, be done about this - but there are probably a bunch of corporate lawyers who would prefer not to have to ponder the issue...