subject: The Importance of Software Licensing [print this page] The Importance of Software Licensing The Importance of Software Licensing
Man's desire to surpass distance in creating fast and wide-range communication systems led to the invention of the Internet. This is a global network of interconnected computer systems that allows instant sharing of information, documents and software applications. It actually overcame the traditional wired communication system and introduced the use of wireless, electronic, and optical networking technologies.
The Internet is designed mainly to provide a platform where end-users can freely access information from databases and display their own information for the convenient use of other end-users. The pioneering technology, however, was not able to manage the risk of information exploitation and privacy protection issues. End-users began to design encryption applications that can create barriers to limit public access to several data and software applications stored in their servers.
A popular example of an encryption application is a software license. Although the principle is different from the traditional encryption methods that conceal files from a group of end-users, software license protects a file, often a software application, from the extensive use of Internet users. This is intended to greatly reduce or completely eliminate piracy, especially of software applications produced for business.
Servers containing software licenses normally display the applications for advertisement purposes, but the end-users cannot download and run the applications. An end-user must obtain legal authority to replicate and distribute applications protected by software licenses. The industry of programming benefits from this technology because it requires purchasers to have client access licenses, which in business contexts can influence application pricing.
There are several types of software licenses distinguishable by their accessibility limits. One is a license designed with contractual confidentiality. The end-user authorized to use this type of license is allowed to reproduce the software limitedly for other purposes but only for the same business. This is applicable to Enterprise server software that can integrate different systems running production processes.
Another type is a floating license, which is designed to authorize an end-user to run the system for a certain period of time. The purpose of this protection is to promote a certain software application to end-users by allowing them to try the application out. For example, an industrial company can acquire floating license to use Enterprise server software for free for one week. If the software performed efficiently, the company can purchase the software for unlimited use.
