Software Licensing
A Software license is a legal instrument allowing consumer to use or redistribute the software. software license is typically provide one or more copies of the software without violating copyrights. Software licensing terms and conditions usually include fair use of the software, the limitations of liability, warranties and disclaimers and protections if the software or its use infringes on the intellectual property rights of others.
A software licensing is the common thing . because today windows and mac os users are widely in the world that users are if they want to use software they need buy security keys it is not only for operating systems it is also for all other softwares also.
Methods of software licensing
An end-user license agreement (EULA) is one approach vendors can take to license their software. his is a contract between the licensor and purchaser, establishing the purchaser’s right to use the software. software licensing also it is a business method because if any software company make’s a software they will sell to users.
Another method of licensing software is by white labelling it. This is where a product is created by one company and then re-branded by another company. As a result, the software/product belongs to the company that created it. There is a software license in place which permits the company benefiting from the white label to use the software.
Intellectual Property
IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.
5 Different types of software licenses
Public Domain
This is the most permissive type of software licenses.When software in the public anyone can modify and use without any restrictions but I we need to consider whether it is secure or not because some illegal hackers can access our personal informations.
Permissive
Permissive licenses are also known as “Apache style” or “BSD style.” They contain minimal requirements about how the software can be modified or redistributed. This type of software license is perhaps the most popular license used with free and open source software. Aside from the Apache License and the BSD License, another common variant is the MIT License.
LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License)
Allows you to link to open source libraries in your software. If you simply compile or link an LGPL-licensed library with your own code, you can release your application under any license you want, even a proprietary license. But if you modify the library or copy parts of it into your code, you’ll have to release your application under similar terms as the LGPL.
Copyleft.
Copyleft licenses are also known as reciprocal licenses or restrictive licenses. The most well-known example of a copyleft or reciprocal license is the GPL. These licenses allow you to modify the licensed code and distribute new works based on it, as long as you distribute any new works or adaptations under the same software license. For example, a component’s license might say the work is free to use and distribute for personal use only. So any derivative you create would also be limited to personal use only. (A derivative is any new software you develop that contains the component.)
The catch here is that the users of your software would also have the right to modify the code. Therefore, you’d have to make your own source code available. But of course, exposing your source code may not be in your best interests.
Proprietary
Of all types of software licenses, this is the most restrictive. The idea behind it is that all rights are reserved. It’s generally used for proprietary software where the work may not be modified or redistributed.
Reference :
https://workingmouse.com.au/innovation/software-licensing-why-its-important-and-how-it-can-help-you
