SOFTWARE LICENSING
What is a software license?
A software license is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract low,with or without printed material) governing the use of redistribution of software. Authors of copyrighted software can donate their software to the public domain,in which case it is also not covered by copyright and,as a result cannot be licensed.
For example,how long you can use the software for (eg:12months) how many computers you can install it on,what types of uses are permitted (eg:educational vs commercial use) and restrictions or reverse engineering,selling or transferring the software are usually included in the software license agreement.
Why do we need software license?
Software licensing helps protect the software company and the end-use.
3 reasons you should use licensed software
- Using unlicensed software is again3the law
Using unlicensed software exposes you to legal and financial using unlicensed so3is considered software piracy. Software piracy refers to the unauthorized use,duplication or distribution of copyrighted software.
The copyright owne5can take legal action against you,and the government can force you to pay damages. Some people think they won’t get caught using unlicensed software. Unfortunately,they are mistaken. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA)software companies lose about $46 billion a year due to unlicensed software.
- Licensed software offers better protection from cybersecurity threats
License software decr3the risk of cybersecurity incidents. Reports have shown that people and organisations who use unlicensed PC software generally encounter more malware than those who don’t. Because cyber criminals can pre install or embed malware in the so3and use it to gain unauthorized access to your information.
- The right software license can save your money
License software can save money and increase efficiency. It is more efficient to pay for the licenced software and avoid any issues.
How does software licensing work
New users of a 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.
Cloud-based applications such as Software as a Service (SaaS) will often include license details in EULAs including:
- Monthly or annual charges per user
- Duration of the agreement
- Terms of cancellation of the agreement
- Recovery of any charges if cancelled during the agreement
An additional use of software licensing is in cases where a software developer or firm grants authority for selling or distributing the software under the second party’s brand. The developer retains ownership, but the re-branding company is permitted to resell the software product. This method of licensing is called “white labelling.”
What are the types of software licenses
There are five main software licenses categories or types used to cover different kind of software and various business arrangements.
- Public Domain License
In this anyone is free to use and modify the software without restrictions. This is a “permissive “license that allows adop5the code into applications or projects and reusing the software as desired.you must be aware when adopting public domain software in projects or other important applications:
- Public domain software may not always adhere to best coding practices or may not be up to standards of secure software that the application requires.
- Software that does not fall under specific licensing terms is not always public domain code. Be sure the software is truly public domain before copying, reusing, or distributing it.
2.GNU/LGPL-GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Under an LGPL license, developers have rights to link to open source libraries within their own software. Resulting code can be licensed under any other type of license — even proprietary — when projects are compiled or linked to include an LGPL-licensed library.
3.Permissive
This license is one of the most common and popular among open source software licenses with only minimal restrictions on how to software can be used,modified and redistributed usually including a warranty disclaimer.Examples include the GNU All-premissive licence,MIT license,BSD license,Apple public source license and apache license. The most popular free software license is the permissive MIT license. permissive software license sometimes also called BSD -like or BSD-style license.
4.Copyleft
This license’s terms are restrictive — known as reciprocal licenses. Under the terms of a copyleft license, the licensed code may be modified or distributed as part of a software project if the new code is distributed under the same software license.
Copyleft ensures that any atte3by an organisation to use open source work in a commercial venture isn’t variable. Alth3 copyleft license allows for selling,modifications of open source code,it removes ant rests for how the recipient uses the code and mandate the developers to share all of the source code with the recipient.
Copyleft licenses include:
- GPLv3
- Mozilla Public License
- Eclipse Public License
- Open software license
- Microsoft reciprocal license
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.
This is also known as non-free software or closed-source software.
Examples of proprietary software licenses include Microsoft windows,Adobe Flash Player,PS3 OS,iTunes,Adobe Photoshop,Google Earth,mac OS(formerly mac OS X and OS X),Skype
Copyright low
Copyright is a legal right that protect the use of your work once your idea has been physically expressed. For your work To be protected by copyright law it needs to be original and tangible. Copyright law lays out a framework of rules around how that work can be used.it sets out the rights of the owner,as well as the responsibility of other people who want to use the work.
You can do many things with your copyright work including for example copy,change or sell it,share it online or rent it to someone as well as prevent other people from doing those things. Most forms of copyright have a defined dura3(usually life+’n’years).In an open source proje3,ecery contributor retains copy3in their own contribution.
Copyright is the legal term used to decla3and prove who owns the intellectual properties (the text,code etc:) and licensing is the legal term used to describe the terms under which people are allowed to use the copyright material.
Ownership vs licensing
A software licensing is a legal instrument governing the use or redistribution of software. When you purchase a software ,you receive a copy of the software and a license to use it.you don’t actually own the software-ownership rights belong to the software company, and you are still limited y the he terms and conditions of the license.
A software license gives you the right to use a software product. It also governs the use of the software along with the copyright laws,which prevent the unauthorized distribution or reproduction of the software.
The owner of the software remains the person or entity that holds the copyright,giving them the sole legal authority power to sell, distribute, copy and/or change the content of the software. And unless the person or organization transfers ownership rights, the rights remain with the owner no matter how many times the owner legally distributes the software.