Computer Science
Proprietary Software
Proprietary software refers to computer programs that are owned and controlled by a specific company or individual. Users typically need to purchase a license to use proprietary software, and the source code is not freely available for modification or redistribution. Examples of proprietary software include Microsoft Windows, Adobe Photoshop, and Oracle Database.
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9 Key excerpts on "Proprietary Software"
eBook - PDF- Ramesh Chandra(Author)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Arcler Press(Publisher)
Proprietary Software VERSUS OPEN-SOURCE CHAPTER7 CONTENTS 7.1 Definition of Proprietary and Open Source Software ........................ 174 7.2 Types of Proprietary Software ........................................................... 175 7.3 Types of Open-Source Software ....................................................... 186 7.4 Comparison of Software and Open Source ..................................... 194 Encyclopedia of Science and Technology 174 7.1 DEFINITION OF PROPRIETARY AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE Any copyrighted software that has restrictions on its use, distribution, and/or modification imposed by its publisher, distributor, or inventor is considered Proprietary Software. Proprietary Software can be used by end users or organizations, but only within certain parameters, and it remains the property of the author or owner of the program. Commercial software and closed-source software can be used interchangeably with Proprietary Software (Swierstra & Rip, 2007). Figure 7.1: Proprietary Software versus open-source. Source: https://www.techasoft.com/blog/2020/07/1594806112.jpg Commercial software is widely used in the software industry to refer to Proprietary Software that can only be purchased from the developer or creator. The majority of Proprietary Software subscribers and end users do not have access to the source code. It is not permissible to relicense, duplicate, or sell the product; nevertheless, a license or the product can be acquired outright. The majority of software licensed under intellectual property laws is created by an independent software developer (ISV) (ISV). Any limits or duties that the software’s distributor or author may have are detailed in EULAs, TOS, and any other appropriate use agreement. Before installing or using the program, the user or organization must agree to the conditions of the agreement. The software vendor or developer can initiate a lawsuit against the end user or organization that violated the EULA or TOS.
eBook - PDF- Henry M. Walker(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Chapman and Hall/CRC(Publisher)
• Programmers must be able to work in teams effectively. The computing industry professionals differed regarding which of these qualities was most important and which was second, but every professional listed these as their top two traits. Specific technical skills never ranked higher than third. This reality may be rather different from the stereotype of the isolated non-verbal programmer. In discussions about software, I hear the terms “Proprietary Software,” “free software,” “open source software,” and “FOSS.” What do these terms mean, and how are these concepts similar or different? When you use software from a company, an organization, or another source, the software normally specifies under what conditions it can be used, modified, and distributed. The following discussion may help clarify some of the alternatives. • Proprietary Software is usually distributed with the understanding that you may use it, but you may not modify it, use in within another application, or distribute it. Often, you have purchased a software application, and your purchase entitles you to install and run the software on your own computer. Sometimes, you are allowed to make one copy as a backup, but other legal uses of the software are restricted. For example, if you wanted to modify the software and include it within an application of your own, you likely would need special permission from the owner, and you might need to pay additional fees. Altogether, the word “proprietary” refers to ownership; you may have paid a fee to use an application, but you do not own it, and you can use it only under the terms of your purchase. • Free software refers to the ability of others to create, modify, and distribute computer software. Promoted by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), “A program is free software 230 ◾ The Tao of Computing if . . . you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere.
eBook - ePubDecoding Liberation
The Promise of Free and Open Source Software
- Samir Chopra, Scott D. Dexter(Authors)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
During the CONTU hearings of 1978 it had become clear that the computing industry wanted to be able to apply both copyright and trade secret law to software. For distributors of Proprietary Software to come under the purview of trade secret law, they must demonstrate efforts to protect the confidentiality of their trade secrets. This is achieved by employing both nondisclosure agreements, which are signed by programmers and prohibit disclosing any details of a particular software project, and license agreements for users, which block copying and sharing of executables. Using trade secret law to deny access to source code denies access to that part of the creators’ innovation that could be the focus of public scrutiny and criticism.Proprietary Software poses another fundamental problem for computer science. Computer science is the first physical science whose experimental apparatus and knowledge is substantially nonrival. The practice of physics and chemistry depends on the use of goods ranging from glass flasks to mass spectrometers to particle accelerators. While computer science employs goods such as computer workstations and incorporates subfields that study only hardware, its experiments and experimental apparatus are the programs employed by computer scientists. If running programs are part of the experimental infrastructure, then restrictions on copying executables are constraints on the propagation of scientific knowledge. Physicists may be unable to duplicate their colleagues’ laboratory configuration easily, but this limitation is fundamentally a material one. In computer science, the constraints are not logistic or physical but legal and economic.In sum, the application of proprietary notions to software suffers from systemic incoherence. Not only are these ideas damaging to the current practice of science, they, like all ideologies, function to preserve their own power and to counteract any reformatory imperative. Current applications of patent law pose a clear threat to FOSS, which by its practice and accompanying philosophy not only opposes Proprietary Software but is able to provide a coherent alternative through its creative licensing policies. This potential is countered by the threat of punitive action: the Linux kernel, for example, is known to be vulnerable to patent litigation, as is any other large FOSS project.3
eBook - ePub- Henry M. Walker(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Chapman and Hall/CRC(Publisher)
Proprietary Software is usually distributed with the understanding that you may use it, but you may not modify it, use in within another application, or distribute it. Often, you have purchased a software application, and your purchase entitles you to install and run the software on your own computer. Sometimes, you are allowed to make one copy as a backup, but other legal uses of the software are restricted. For example, if you wanted to modify the software and include it within an application of your own, you likely would need special permission from the owner, and you might need to pay additional fees. Altogether, the word “proprietary” refers to ownership; you may have paid a fee to use an application, but you do not own it, and you can use it only under the terms of your purchase.- Free software refers to the ability of others to create, modify, and distribute computer software. Promoted by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), “A program is free software if … you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission to do so.”*
- Open source software means that any underlying computer programs are available for examination and study. Since anyone can view and modify open source software, applications of this type often evolve from collaborative efforts, in which many people contribute one part or offer improvements that build on the work of others.
- FOSS is an abbreviation for Free Open Source Software, which largely is a combination of free software and open source software. According to freeopensourcesoftware.org , “FOSS is released under a license that is kind of an Intellectual Property lawyer’s version of the Golden Rule, making it available to anyone to use, modify, and distribute as they wish at no cost, provided they agree in turn to make it available to others to use, modify, and distribute as they wish at no cost.”†
eBook - ePub- Christine Bresnahan, Richard Blum(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Sybex(Publisher)
CHAPTER 2 Understanding Software LicensingSoftware is a type of intellectual property that is governed by copyright laws and, in some countries, patent laws. As a general rule, this makes it illegal to copy software unless you’re the software’s author. Open source software, however, relies on licenses, which are documents that alter the terms under which the software is released. As described in this chapter, open source licenses grant additional rights to software users.In general, open source software owes a great deal to three organizations: the Free Software Foundation (FSF), the Open Source Initiative (OSI), and the Creative Commons (CC). Each organization has a distinct philosophy and role to play in the open source world. There are also numerous specific open source licenses, which are summarized at the end of this chapter, along with ways that businesses can use them.- Investigating software licenses
- The Free Software Foundation
- The Open Source Initiative
- The Creative Commons
- Using open source licenses
Investigating Software Licenses
Copyright law has existed for centuries and, as such, it wasn’t designed with software in mind. Nonetheless, copyright law does apply to software. Licenses that authors apply to their software interact with copyright law to create the specific rights that you have—and don’t have—to use, modify, and redistribute software. Thus you need to understand the basic principles, as well as the differences, between proprietary and open source license terms.Exploring Copyright Protection and Software
A copyright
eBook - PDF- Steven Weber, Steve WEBER(Authors)
- 2005(Publication Date)
- Harvard University Press(Publisher)
Just as Coca-Cola does not release its formula, Microsoft and other Proprietary Software makers do not release their source code. Source code is a list of instructions that make up the “recipe” for a software package. Software engineers write source code in a program-ming language (like C ++ or FORTRAN) that a human can read and understand, as well as fix and modify. Most commercial software is released in machine language or what are called “binaries”—a long string of ones and zeros that a computer can read and execute, but a human cannot read. 2 The source code is basically the recipe for the bi-naries; and if you have the source code, you can understand what the author was trying to accomplish when she wrote the program—which means you can modify it. If you have just the binaries, you typically cannot either understand or modify them. Therefore, shipping binary code is a very effective way for Proprietary Software companies to con-trol what you can do with the software you buy. 4 • THE SUCCESS OF OPEN SOURCE Proprietary source code is the touchstone of the conventional in-tellectual property regime for computer software. Proprietary source code is supposed to be the fundamental reason why Microsoft can sell Windows for around $100 (or why Oracle can sell its sophisticated data management software for many thousands of dollars) and distribute some of that money to programmers who write the code—and thus provide incentives for them to innovate. Open source software simply inverts this logic. The essence of open source software is that source code is free. That is, the source code for open source software is released along with the software to anyone and everyone who chooses to use it. “Free” in this context means freedom (not necessarily zero price). Free source code is open, public, and nonproprietary.
eBook - ePubLPI Linux Essentials Study Guide
Exam 010 v1.6
- Christine Bresnahan, Richard Blum(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Sybex(Publisher)
CHAPTER 2 Understanding Software Licensing Objective: 1.3 Open Source Software and Licensing Software is a type of intellectual property that is governed by copyright laws and, in some countries, patent laws. As a general rule, this makes it illegal to copy software unless you’re the software’s author. Open source software, however, relies on licenses, which are documents that alter the terms under which the software is released. As described in this chapter, open source licenses grant additional rights to software users. In general, open source software owes a great deal to three organizations: the Free Software Foundation (FSF), the Open Source Initiative (OSI), and the Creative Commons (CC). Each organization has a distinct philosophy and role to play in the open source world. There are also numerous specific open source licenses, which are summarized at the end of this chapter, along with ways that businesses can use them. Investigating Software Licenses Copyright law has existed for centuries, and as such, it wasn’t designed with software in mind. Nonetheless, copyright law does apply to software. Licenses that authors apply to their software interact with copyright law to create the specific rights that you have—and don’t have—to use, modify, and redistribute software. Thus you need to understand the basic principles, as well as the differences, between proprietary and open source license terms. Exploring Copyright Protection and Software A copyright is, as the name implies, a legally recognized right to create a copy of something. In most countries, if you write a book, take a photograph, or create a computer program, you (and you alone) have the right to make copies of that book, photograph, or computer program
eBook - PDFInventing Software
The Rise of Computer-Related Patents
- Kenneth Nichols(Author)
- 1998(Publication Date)
- Praeger(Publisher)
Software Has Unique Characteristics Software has many characteristics that are not shared by conventional patent subject matter: • self-modification—Software is capable of modifying its own rules of operation; that is, it may begin its operation as one program and end it as another. Broadly speaking, this category encompasses not only programs that can modify their own code, which we have examined, but also adaptive or cognitive processes (e.g., neural networks and genetic algorithms), which are designed to adjust themselves in an effort to find a solution to a particular problem. This type of program is considered in a later section. • nonphysicality—Software is executed by hardware, but software itself has no physical existence. Design diagrams, source code, running code, and executable files on machine-readable media are all manifestations of the software, but none of them captures the entire invention. • no definite location—Software may run on one computer, or the software run- ning on many computers at arbitrary locations may interact to attack a problem. In this situation, what is the software: each individual program or the collective? • blurs idea and expression—We have already seen that software's capacity to contain or implement an idea, such as a mathematical principle, has been trou- blesome for courts ruling on the patentability of software inventions. Software Fits Copyright and Patent Neither copyright nor patent was designed to fit software. The resulting confusion has made software the first technology to be widely protected by both copyright and patent, which is a problem because the two forms of pro- tection had previously been considered to govern mutually exclusive do- mains. The nagging suspicion is that, if both copyright and patent seem to fit software, then perhaps neither one really does.
eBook - ePubSharing
Crime Against Capitalism
- Matthew David(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Polity(Publisher)
5 Open-Source Software and Proprietary SoftwareIntroduction
This chapter will examine the relative creativity of corporate and open-source/hacker models for the development of innovative software. The copyright-based business model takes it for granted that the motivation for creativity and the conditions that allow creativity to be translated into workable innovation require strong protection for the rights of creators/innovators to own and control the sale of their intellectual property. However, intellectual property law over the past 150 years has developed in such a way as to enable the emergence of corporate research and development teams whose work can be owned by their employers, not by the actual researchers (May and Sell 2005). This corporate model of research and development (R&D), protected by current IP law, stands in opposition to a form of innovation that relies upon sharing ideas in the development of open-source software. Competition between these two models of creativity and innovation can be directly observed in the attempts by commercial developers to build forms of digital rights management (DRM), and attempts by open-source ‘hacktivists’ to break such systems of control. Every attempt to develop such DRM has failed. The emergence of peer-to-peer sharing (of music, film and television) has also shown how innovation has come despite, not because of, intellectual property restrictions. New forms of sharing software have evolved to bypass legal and technical efforts to shut them down, while IP-based business models have only trailed in the wake of such innovation. The open-source software movement further illustrates the power of non-proprietary models of innovation and regulation, as does ‘Creative Commons’ licensing (within limits that will be documented below). The computer gaming industry powerfully illustrates this tension between proprietary and sharing cultures as well as between business models. Curiously, despite being far more dependent upon the sale of immaterial content (with no live concerts, cinema visits and sports attendances to fall back on if digital sales fall), the computer games industry remains far less dependent upon IP regulation than it does simply on being able to digitally innovate. Finally, this chapter will examine the Internet, the World Wide Web, Wikipedia, Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft as competing models of innovation – based as they are on very different conceptions of the relationship between user community sharing, expert community sharing and private ownership.
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