Is one required to have ECCN for the softwares installed when travelling to a different country

Question

@Moderators, please don't close this topic. Though it is not directly related to programming, I think it makes sense to have the community reply this question as it is related to software & many would benefit from this.

Now the question.

We are publishers of a desktop software. One of our user says that he requires a ECCN for our software as he is traveling to a different country. Though I googled a lot on this, I couldn't find out if carrying a laptop to a different country with a software installed with out an ECCN for it is a violation of export laws..

I have many software installed on my laptop & I often fly to other countries. Not even once was I asked about this ECCN.

Can anyone please throw some light on this

Answer 1

I think this would depend on the nature of your software. The export of certain kinds of software is restricted depending on what country the user might be going to. You can use the information at the link below to determine the ECCN for your particular program:

http://www.bis.doc.gov/licensing/do_i_needaneccn.html

According to this PDF it seems that most "generally available" software would be excluded unless it used high-level encryption, in which case it would probably fall under ECCN 5D002

Answer 2

Export Control Classification Number. You should talk to a lawyer, not programmers.

Answer 3

I think that the level of encryption determines the licensability of the product. In any event, something like, say Windows Vista, when it first came out, Microsoft had it listed on their website as a licensable item, until they procured a special status that says that the Vista was then ok to export without a license. But you have to report it anyway when you bring it out of the country.