| By Sheldon L | Published at 2020-05-01 | Updated at 2020-05-01 |
OSS:
Use of OSS means source code is made available with a license which provides rights to examine, modify and redistribute, without restriction on the user’s identity or purpose.
There is a multiplicity of licensing methods, falling into the two general classifications:
Proprietary:
Only the owners of such software projects have full legal access to the source code involved, although they may grant inspection rights to trusted partners who have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
The owners of proprietary software projects may or may not be the authors of the code; usually, the authors have been working under contracts giving up their individual rights. Indeed, many such programs are no longer even owned by their originators, but have been passed on through sales over time.
To use proprietary software, end users must accept a license restricting their rights, often through a confusing click-through box presented after a very long and dense description during install.
Such licenses generally restrict the user’s rights of re-distribution, indemnify the product from damages due to either malfunction or misuse, and prohibit trying to reconstruct source code or use inside another product. They may sometimes restrict how a product is used, but whether such restrictions are legal will vary with details and legal jurisdictions, including country.
Price is not the point!
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