ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software

What ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software does

ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software is a non-profit business association (associação empresarial sem fins lucrativos) founded in 1991 and headquartered at TECMAIA in Maia (Porto), with a delegation at Polo Tecnológico de Lisboa. It represents Portuguese entities that produce and commercialize software, providing collective copyright management, software registration and deposit, escrow agreements, compliance certification, expert examinations, anti-piracy enforcement, and dispute resolution. The association is recognized as a legal entity of public utility and serves as the industry's representative before Portuguese authorities (AT, IGAC) and international counterparts.

The association's technical portfolio centers on the CryptoSAF-T documentation project launched in August 2020 under Decreto Lei 48/2020, which specifies AES-128-CTR encryption with randomly generated 128-bit symmetric keys and random initialization vectors, SHA-256 checksums computed over Canonical XML (XML-C14N), and integration with the INCM-managed SOAP webservice (KeyRequestOperation / KeyRetrieveOperation) for cryptographic key lifecycle management. ASSOFT also supports adoption of AMA's SAFE electronic invoice signing service (mandated from 2021 under Decreto de Lei 28/2019), maintains open-source Java utilities (FastHashCannon, FastSaftEncrypt) on GitHub, and operates a Slack-based collaborative platform including the #wg-ies-pt working group. Its research output includes the Catolica University-coauthored Software Piracy Economic Impact Study documenting a 40% Portuguese piracy rate in 2011 with €193M in annual losses.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring annual membership quotas (collective/institutional, individual, honorary) set by the General Assembly, transactional fees for services (registration, escrow, certification, expert examinations), and EU-funded program income via Portugal 2020 frameworks (QGLOBAL €902,539.53, QLX €886,200, INTERSOFT III €685,294.11, MOVE PME 2020 €1,050,925). Distribution is direct-to-member across offices in Maia and Lisbon, supplemented by virtual General Assembly meetings on Microsoft Teams, Slack for member collaboration, and anonymous piracy-reporting channels. Strategic alliances include SIBS ESG (2019), AIP-CCI (2019) as Intermediate Organism for MOVE PME, APOTEC (2024) on intangible asset amortization, INCM (2020) for cryptographic infrastructure, and AMA (2019) for SAFE integration.

Name

ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software

Legal name

ASSOFT – Associação Portuguesa de Software

Website

https://assoft.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ASSOFT is a Portuguese non-profit industry association founded in 1991 that represents domestic software producers and provides collective copyright management, compliance certification, escrow, anti-piracy enforcement, and tax-compliance technical documentation (including CryptoSAF-T) to its member companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ASSOFT generates revenue through annual membership fees (quotas) paid by member companies and individual members. Fees are set by the General Assembly and defined in the Internal Regulations. Membership includes collective/institutional members, individual members, and honorary members.
2. Professional Services: Fees for services including software registration and deposit, escrow agreements, software compliance certification, and expert examinations performed by the association.
3. EU Funding and Grants: The association receives EU funding through Portugal 2020 and other programs for SME qualification and internationalization projects. Examples include QGLOBAL (902,539.53 EUR), QLX Software Skills (886,200 EUR), INTERSOFT III (685,294.11 EUR), and MOVE PME 2020 (1,050,925 EUR).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ASSOFT is a non-profit business association that provides collective copyright management, software registration and deposit, escrow agreements, software compliance certification, and expert examination services to Portuguese software companies and producers. The association also runs anti-piracy campaigns, represents the industry before Portuguese and European authorities, develops technical documentation standards such as CryptoSAF-T, and administers EU-funded SME qualification and internationalization programs.

Product overview

ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software is a non-profit business association founded in 1991 representing Portuguese software producers. The organization offers a portfolio of compliance and certification services including Software Registration and Deposit, Escrow Agreements, Software Compliance and Certification, and Expert Examinations. ASSOFT operates anti-piracy programs and provides a collaborative Slack platform for members. The association administers multiple EU-funded projects including QGLOBAL and QLX (qualification), INTERSOFT III (internationalization), and MOVE PME 2020 (training). Technical initiatives include CryptoSAF-T documentation for encrypted SAF-T tax file compliance and SAFE electronic invoice signature service integration. The organization also publishes research including the Software Piracy Economic Impact Study.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Software Registration and Deposit Service Official registration and deposit service for software products in Portugal, providing legal protection and documentation for software intellectual property, available to software producers and developers.
• Software Escrow Agreement Escrow arrangement service for software source code protection, ensuring continuity and access to source code in case of specified trigger events, for software vendors and licensees.
• Software Compliance and Certification Services for software compliance assessment and certification, including guidance on best practices and regulatory requirements for software legality, for companies that produce or use software.
• Expert Examinations Technical expert examination services for software-related legal disputes and forensic analysis, for legal proceedings, courts, and parties in software IP disputes.
• Anti-Piracy Program Anti-piracy initiative with anonymous reporting system for illegal software use, awareness campaigns, educational programs in schools and universities, and collaboration with IGAC and other enforcement authorities, serving the software industry and public authorities.
• CryptoSAF-T Technical Documentation Technical documentation project and community-driven specification for creating encrypted (descaracterizado) SAF-T accounting files required for Portuguese IES/DA tax submissions under Decreto Lei 48/2020. Includes AES-128-CTR encryption mechanism, INCM webservice integration guides, GitHub repositories with open-source Java tools, and implementation guidance, for accounting software developers and ERP vendors.
• Collaborative Platform (Slack Community) Slack-based community platform for members to network, access sector information, participate in work groups and industry initiatives such as CryptoSAF-T implementation, available to ASSOFT member companies and individuals.
• Software Member Directory Online directory of ASSOFT's collective members, individual members, and depositors, providing access to the association's member network for software companies, users, and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reducing software piracy from 40% to 30% could generate 320 million EUR in additional tax revenue and 1150 million EUR in GDP increase
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• APOTECminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024APOTEC (Associação Portuguesa de Técnicos de Contabilidade) has a partnership with ASSOFT regarding the amortization of intangibles, providing clarification on accounting and fiscal treatment of intangible assets.
• QGLOBALcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021QGLOBAL is a joint qualification project co-promoted by ASSOFT as a qualification initiative for SMEs in the Centro and Norte regions. The 902,539.53 EUR project focused on organizational innovation, digital economy, and knowledge transfer.
• INCM (Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020INCM provides the cryptographic infrastructure for CryptoSAF-T, including secure key generation and storage services via webservice. Keys are kept for 15 years as per regulatory requirements.
• AIP-CCI (Associação Industrial Portuguesa - Câmara de Comércio e Indústria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019AIP-CCI serves as the Intermediate Organism for ASSOFT's MOVE PME 2020 project, a 1,050,925 EUR training program for SMEs in Centro and Norte regions, with 945,832.50 EUR in FSE funding.
• Government Authorities - AngolaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International cooperation protocols established with government authorities in Angola for software industry collaboration.
• Government Authorities - ChileminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International cooperation protocols with Chile for technology and software industry knowledge exchange.
• Government Authorities - United KingdomminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Cooperation protocols with UK authorities for software industry collaboration.
• Government Authorities - United StatesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Cooperation protocols with US authorities for technology and software sector collaboration.
• European Government OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Various cooperation agreements with European government and non-government organizations for software industry development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DigitalEurope: European-level trade association representing the broader digital technology industry to EU institutions. Comparable to ASSOFT in its trade association and advocacy role but operating at EU-wide level with broader digital scope beyond pure software.
• techUK: UK technology trade association representing the broader tech sector including software companies. Similar in trade association function but with broader digital scope and a larger membership base than ASSOFT.

Direct peers

• BSA | The Software Alliance: Global software trade association advocating for the software industry and conducting anti-piracy enforcement globally. Closely comparable to ASSOFT in mandate (software copyright protection, IP advocacy, anti-piracy) but operating at global scale rather than country-specific.
• Ametic: Spanish digital and technology industry association representing IT companies in Spain. Directly comparable to ASSOFT in structure, mandate, and function as a national trade body for software and digital industries in an Iberian neighbor.
• Assinform (Confindustria Digitale): Italian IT and software industry association within Confindustria. Highly comparable to ASSOFT as a national-level non-profit industry association representing Italian software companies, providing similar compliance, advocacy, and market development services.
• Syntec Numérique: French digital services and software industry association, representing technology companies and software publishers in France. Comparable in mandate (industry representation, advocacy, professional services) to ASSOFT's role in Portugal.

Others

• AGECOP: Portuguese association for collective management of private copying rights. Operates in the same Portuguese copyright collective management ecosystem as ASSOFT but focused on private copying compensation rather than software copyright.

Regional players

• ASOLIF: Spanish federation of free software associations. Comparable in its non-profit association model representing software producers and providing advocacy, though focused on free/open-source software rather than the broader Portuguese software industry covered by ASSOFT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/assoft
• GitHubgithub.com/assoft-portugal
• Facebookfacebook.com/assoft.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/assoftassociacaoportuguesadesoftware

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ASSOFT - Associação Portuguesa de Software