Posts Tagged ‘Licensed Software’

Computer softwares are the most important part of any computer system. Basically, these consist of programmes which enable the computer to execute specific tasks. The softwares are installed into the storage slots in computer systems which are RAM, hard disk and the memory. All the applications and programmes in a computer are run by the softwares. Most of these softwares are licensed rather than sold. The license is given for a certain period of time. Microsoft, Adobe, Norton and Linux are some of the leading software developers in the global markets.

The various programmes and data in a computer are generally called as the softwares. These can be classified into two types which are system software and programming software. The basic functions in a computer device are run by the system applications whereas programming applications provide tools to write different computer programmes. Both of these are equally important for smooth functioning of a computer system. One can also create one’s own applications such as spreadsheet templates, words and word processor macros.

There are a wide variety of softwares available to the users worldwide. The licensed computer software is the computer programme which is authenticated by the manufacturer. A number of such applications are being developed by the companies so that the computers could be used for many purposes. The licensing system is based on different concepts such as the number of computers on which the licensing programme can run and the number of users that would be running the programme.

Using unlicensed computer programmes is an offence and may lead to cyber crime. In fact, the legal computer applications allow the users to run the programmes on only one computer. However, copies of the software can be made for backup purposes. In some of the cases, one can run the applications on more than one computer system. This all depends on the type of agreement that comes with the software.

The licensed computer software is basically a protection against the unauthorized copying by the users. Several laws have been made in order to protect the intellectual property rights of the developer. If software is copied without permission of the owner, it is considered as “copyright infringement”. The offender can be imposed penalties and other punishments as per the laws. There a number of situations in which this offence can take place. These situations are as the following.

* When one loads the software into one’s computer by running the application from CD-ROM, hard drive or an optical storage media.

* The software is copied on to other storage devices such as pen drive, floppy disk or the hard drive of the computer.

* The application is run directly from the network place where it is stored.

* If the software is copied for a sale or hire, it is considered as a crime.

* The offence takes place if any supporting documents of software such as programme manuals, data, and codes are distributed to others without having permission from the owner.

Computer software is a big business and thousands of companies have invested their money in this industry. It requires a large sum of money, continuous efforts and sharp human brain to develop the softwares. Therefore it becomes necessary to protect this intellectual capital from hackers and piracy threats. The federal copyright law has been made in this direction which says that users can not copy softwares for any reason except for back-up purpose without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Several other laws have been made for this purpose which protects the intellectual property rights of the software developers.

There are a number of places from where the valid computer programmes can be availed. Internet is perhaps the best source of getting these. Various online marketplaces offer the legally authorized softwares and applications. One can also download any particular programme directly from the developer’s website. Therefore, using licensed computer software is the best and ethical way to run the computer programmes. It minimizes the revenue loss of the concerned companies and also gives a lot of satisfaction to the users.

Jayson Pablo, a dedicated writer of Rupizcompare.co.uk which provide information on cheap computers and cheap laptops.

Author: Jayson Pablo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Unix inter-process communication (IPC)

A software license agreement is either a manual or electronic memorandum of a contractual agreement between the producer of software and the end user, granting to the end user a software license to use the software legally. The user can be either a legal entity or an end user and sometimes the agreement is called the end user license agreement. This contract will clearly state all the parameters of the various permissions given to the end user. In case the software license agreement is between the software producer and a business or government undertaking some special clauses are included relevant to the agreement which are unique for the licensed software.

Very often, the agreement comes shrink wrapped with the product prior to installation of the software. If the user agrees to the terms and conditions, as stated in the agreement, he or she may continue with the installation and use of the software product or else he or she may refuse the product and thus not use the software. Mostly, users do not take the trouble of reading all the clauses of the software license agreement and just click on “Accept” and begin using the software anyway. This is because of the great depth of detail held within the license agreement. The enforceability of such agreements is open to debate, especially in the United States.

The copyright laws governing making backup copies of the purchased software allows the owner of the software to make copies for the intention of backup purposes only. However, there are various interpretations to this and a certain amount of ambiguity in this regard allows end users to make copies for purposes other than merely backing up their software.

The majority of the purchased software is liable to perform as per specifications but mostly the agreement disclaims any warranty and limits any damages to just the cost of the software. In addition, some agreements prohibit the use of any reverse engineering in order to protect their trade secrets.

In the world of computers, copyrighted software sold is of two types, namely open source/free software and closed source/proprietary software. It may be added that not all software is copyrighted. There is also one other type of software that is called “abandonware” software. This is a type of software that is not being sold or supported by its copyright holder. This means that though this software is still available in the market its support and development has ceased and that it is not actively being protected, represented or supported.

Using box wrapped software implies that once the wrapper has been opened the user is giving their assent to the software terms contained within. This type of agreement is termed as “click-wrap agreements”. The popularity of click-wrap agreements is increasing since it allows the user to read the terms and conditions prior to accepting them. It has also been found to be legally enforceable in the United States with courts generally upholding such contracts. A prime example of click-wrap agreements is Hotmail, the email program sold by MSN.

There is also a distinction between personal and commercial use of the software. Personal use implies that the software is being used in one’s personal capacity while commercial use implies that the software is being used to obtain commercial or monetary gain from use of the software.

Wade Anderson is a CPA and operates DigitalWorkTools.com

Click to view a Software License Agreement.

Author: Wade Anderson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News