- Home
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Intellectual Property
- Software and Licences
- Software Piracy
- Social responsibility
- Contact us
- About us
- Support
- Useful Links
Types of Software and Licenses
There are four major types of software classifications:
+ Commercial
+ Shareware
+ Freeware
+ Public Domain
+ Warez
Commercial Software
Commercial software refers to software that is sold from computer stores, retail stores, or other commercial stores. It requires the consumers to purchase the license in order to use the software. Consumers buy the license to use the product but don’t actually own the program itself. Examples include Microsoft Word 2007, Norton Antivirus, and Adobe Photoshop.
Properties of commercial software include:
+ The software is protected by copyright
+ One backup copy can be made if the original copy is destroyed/lost
+ Modifications to the software’s source code is prohibited
+ De-compilation and reverse engineering is prohibited
Public Domain
Public Domain software has no copyright restrictions, which enables users to modify and copy the program. All rights to the software aren’t held just to the copyright holder. The source code for public domain software is available for users to modify and edit according to their requirements. Examples include Unix, Linux.
Properties of public domain software include:
+ No copyright protection
+ Copies can be made with no restrictions
+ Modifications to source code is permitted
+ Decompilation is permitted
+ Developing new works based on the product is permitted with no restriction
Shareware
Shareware shares similar copyright protection as commercial software. The consumers purchase the software license to use the product; however they do not own the product. Once the consumers purchase the product, they are permitted to make/distribute copies of the software and trial/test it. Once they decide to get the software, they must purchase it. The trials may be time limited, or run-limited. Examples include WinZIP, WInRAR.
Properties of shareware software include:
+ Software is protected by copyright
+ Copies are permitted for backup or distribution
+ Modification is not permitted
+ Reverse engineering and decompilation is not permitted
Freeware
Freeware is protected by copyright. As the name suggests, it can be obtained freely, and can be distributed freely, as long as it is not for profit. Examples include AVG Anitvirus, Audacity, Limewire.
Properties of freeware software include:
+ Software is protected by copyright
+ The software may be copied for backup and distribution purposes as long as not for profit.
+ Modifications to the source code are permitted
+ Decompiling is permitted
+ New works based on the program is permitted, as long as it is also freeware
Warez
Warez is a term used to classify copyrighted software that is distributed in violation of the copyright law. It consists of software that has been made available to the public through website groups or peer to peer networks. The groups releasing the illegal copies are usually organized groups and is usually not made for profit. Examples include various video games, music files, software programs and movies.
Software licenses
The licensing conditions of software programs are determined by the owner of that license. For commercial software, the license conditions can only be read after the software is purchased. This is referred to as shrinkwrap licenses.
Off-the-shelf software contains single-user licenses which indicate that the software program can be only installed onto one computer. However, the owner of the software program is permitted to make one backup copy. At times, software with single user licenses permit installing on more than one computer as long as these programs aren’t run simultaneously.
For organizations or companies, it is sometimes cheaper to purchase site licenses. These permit the installing of software on a large number of computers. Multi-user licenses permit the software to be installed on a set number of computers and permit all to be used simultaneously.