Software Licenses

Every business uses software to manage business processes, communicate with employees, customers, and vendors, and other purposes. In most cases, software products require activating licenses or agreeing to “Terms and Conditions” before downloading, installing, or accessing programs.

There are many types of software licenses with different terms, support agreements, restrictions, and costs. Users need to understand the basics of the software license to have a full understanding of the responsibilities and to ensure compliance with the legal terms and conditions.

What Is a Software License?

A software license is a contract between the company that created and supplied the application, the source code, or the relevant product and its end-user. A license is a text document designed to protect the software developer’s intellectual property and limit the claims that may arise from their use.

A software license also provides definitions with legal obligations for the distribution and use of the software. End-user rights, such as installation, warranty, and liabilities, are also often set out in the software license, including the protection of the developer’s intellectual property.

Most software falls under one of two categories that have distinct differences in how they are viewed under copyright law:

• Proprietary — also referred to as “closed source”
• Free and open-source software (FOSS) — referred to as “open source”

FOSS software license

Provide the customer with the right to modify and reuse the software code by providing the actual source code with the software product. This open-source licensing system gives you the freedom to modify the software functionality and check the software code.

Proprietary software licenses

No such authority is given for modification or reuse of the code, and the software usually provides only the operating code and no source code. A proprietary software license often includes conditions that prohibit the “reverse engineering” of the object code in order for the licensee to obtain the source code.

Types of software licenses

There are five major types of software licenses used to cover different software and different business provisions. These cover a wide range of licensing options, from free software (public domain) to paid commercial software (proprietary).

1. Public Domain License

A programmer or company that creates copyrighted software may decide to relinquish that copyright by donating the software to the public domain. Software in the public domain will be free to share, modify, distribute, commercialize and retrieve to the end-user. open-source software, the intellectual property associated with these works belongs to the public.

2. GNU/LGPL — GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)

The GNU Lesser General License allows you to connect with the open-source libraries of your software. If you compile or link to an LGPL licensed library with your own code, you can release your application under any license, even under any proprietary license. But if you change the library or copy parts of it to your code, you will have to release your application under conditions like LGPL.

3. Permissive

This license is one of the most common and popular open-source software licenses. Licensing — There are a number of restrictions or requirements for the distribution or modification of software, also known as “Apache” or “BSD”. Another variation on a licensed software license is the “MIT” license.

Varieties of licenses include changes to the Licensing notices and Copyright Protection Requirements for the Software, as well as the use of the Software (Commercial or Personal), trademark requirements, and other terms.

4. Copyleft

Copyright licenses are also known as reciprocal licenses or restrictive licenses. The most well-known example of a copy or reciprocal license is the GPL. As long as you distribute any new work or adaptation under the same software license, these licenses allow you to modify the licensing code and distribute new works based on it. For example, a component license states that the work is free to use and distribute for personal use only. So any derivative you create is also limited to personal use only. (A derivative is any software you develop that contains a component.)

5. Proprietary

These software licenses make the software ineligible for copying, modifying, or distribution. This is the most restrictive type of software license, protecting the developer or owner from unauthorized use of the software.

How Does Software Licensing Work?

New users of the software will normally enter into an end-user license agreement (EULA) that constitutes a legal definition of the relationship between the licensor (provider) and licensee (user or business). The EULA is a contract that establishes the rights of the purchaser for installing and using the software.

Every EULA contains a clause that stipulates when its conditions are activated by an end-user. This may be the moment the user opens the product packaging or, for example, when the user clicks on a button agreeing to accept the EULA’s terms to access it.

Copyright law

Programmers and software developers may be experts in their scientific domain, but ask any of them, and they will let you know that software development is as much an art as it is a science. After all, when a team of coders creates software, it is nothing short of a creative synergy that emanates from them. So, if software code is an expression of the coder’s creativity, how can it be protected?

That’s where software copyright comes in. Copyright law protects all artistic expressions, and computer software falls under this purview. That’s why it is important for all programmers and developers to have a clear idea of how to protect software using copyright. Unfortunately, most computer experts are blissfully unaware of these laws, and often, this unawareness leads to legal complications.

Benefits Of Protecting Copyright In Software

While we’ve already understood that copyright laws can protect software code, you must be wondering what are the other benefits of software copyright protection. So, here’s a short glimpse into the many benefits of protecting software with copyrights.

• Effective Ownership Rights
• Worldwide Declaration
• Makes It Easier To Claim Damages
• You Don’t Have To Worry About Patents

ownership vs licensing

When you purchase software, you receive a copy of the software and a license to use it. Of course you do not own the software — the ownership belongs to the software company and you are still limited by the terms and conditions of the license.

A software license gives you the right to use a software product. It also regulates the use of the software with copyright laws that prevent the distribution or reproduction of the software. A license, along with other terms and conditions, may specify whether you must install the software on more than one computer and whether you can make backups of the software.

Even free software, also known as free software, can be licensed for its use. This is usually done to prevent the user from modifying the software in an attempt to resell.

Before you install an application, always read the license. Most vendors do not negotiate or modify a software license; If it contains unfair or unfair terms, the only solution you may have is to return the software to the seller.

Thanks for reading……

— Kasun Madhumal —