Software license
Despite the copyright being recognized, most companies prefer to sell licenses rather than copies of the software because it enables them to enforce stricter terms on redistribution.
Very few purchasers read any part of the license, initially shrink-wrap contracts and now most commonly encountered as clickwrap or browsewrap.
Service-level agreements are another type of software license where the vendor agrees to provide a level of service to the purchaser, often backed by financial penalties.
The underlying ideas or algorithms are not protected by copyright law, but are often treated as a trade secret and concealed by such methods as non-disclosure agreements.
[12] According to United States federal law, a company can restrict the parties to which it sells but it cannot prevent a buyer from reselling the product.
[13] Traditionally, software was distributed in the form of binary object code that could not be understood or modified by the user,[9] but could be downloaded and run.
[19] Initially, end-user license agreements (EULAs) were printed on either the shrinkwrap packaging encasing the product (see shrink-wrap contract) or a piece of paper.
[20] More recently, EULAs are most commonly found as clickwrap or browsewrap where the user's clicks or continued browsing are taken as a sign of agreement.
[27] Some EULAs restrict the ability of users to exercise copyright over derivative work made using the software, such as creative creations in the virtual worlds of video games.
[28][29] Most disclaim any liability for harms caused by the product,[30] and prevent the purchaser from accessing the court system to seek a remedy.
[31] Furthermore, many EULAs allow the vendor to change the terms at any time and the customer must choose between agreeing or ceasing use of the product, without getting a refund.
[33] EULAs, almost always offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis as a non-negotiable condition for using the software,[34] are very far from the prototypical contract where both parties fully understand the terms and agree of their own free will.
[36][21] Under the New Digital Content Directive effective in the European Union, EULAs are only enforceable to the extent that they do not breach reasonable consumer expectations.
Software vendors keep these unenforceable provisions in the agreements, perhaps because users rarely resort to the legal system to challenge them.
[43] Open-source licensing is intended to maximize openness and minimize barriers to software use, dissemination, and follow-on innovation.
[44] Outside of software, noncommercial-only Creative Commons licenses have become popular among some artists who wish to prevent others from profiting excessively from their work.
[67] A bare license is a set of conditions under which actions otherwise restricted by intellectual property laws are permitted.
