Writing a license file
The term license simply means ‘to give permission’. In the case of your software, to give permission to the end-user (i.e. your customers) the right to use your software in a certain way. How do you make your users aware of the permissions you have given them? You do this through a license file. This is simply a text file, the contents of which we will discuss below.
You should always produce a license document, even for the simplest software. This will give your application a degree of protection (from misuse) and should also ensure that if the unexpected happens (namely, your software accidentally damages the user’s data), you are not held accountable.
Writing a License file is only difficult when you don’t know how you are going to distribute your software, e.g. for free or for a cost? via a website? for what cost? How does the user obtain the full version? what is the difference between the full version and the trial version? Also, it can be difficult when you do not have a company name. It is thus important to get these sorted first.
You can see an example of a simple license file in the Color Crazy demo software. Have a look at this now.
The Color Crazy (demo) license file can be found at ‘\Help file\license.htm’ within the demo folder.
License files can vary enormously depending on the type of software and also, who has written it. I recommend that you view the license files of other applications (preferably those similar to your own) to understand fully the sorts of information that is appropriate to include. Note that you will often see legal jargon – this is not a necessity and may confuse your users are even yourself! I recommend you keep things simple and easy to understand.
You will often find that a license document contains some important areas:
- Title and the software details
- Who the license applies to
- Definitions of terms used in the license file
- What to do if the user does not agree with any part of the license file
- Rules to allow/prevent distributing or modifying your software and its components
- Disclaimer of warranty and Limitation of liability
We will use the example of Color Crazy to go through each one of the above.
1. Title and software details
Color Crazy End User License Agreement for use and distribution (demo)
Color Crazy Version 1
Copyright 2001 - 2009 SSOF SoftwareNote that the copyright notice can be used even if the software is not registered with a Copyright Office. The dates that you see implies that the first version was released in 2001 and the current date is 2009.
2. Who the license applies to
This Color Crazy License Agreement is a legal agreement between you (an individual or a single entity) and SSOF Software for the software product known as Color Crazy Free Version 1 and Color Crazy Plus Version 1, hereinafter referred to as “Color Crazy” unless explicitly stated.
3. Definitions of terms used in the license file
Terms which are technical or not immediately obvious should be defined to exactly what you yourself mean. The example from the Color Crazy software is as follows:
“Software” means the Color Crazy software program(s), its corresponding documentation and other associated files, in each case, supplied by SSOF Software.
“Free Version” means the version of the Color Crazy Software, so identified, to be used only to review, demonstrate and evaluate the Software for a limited time period. The Free Version may have limited features, may lack the ability for the end-user to save the end product, and may cease operating after a predetermined amount of time due to an internal mechanism within the Free Version.
“Plus Version” means the version of the Color Crazy Software, so identified, to be used as the Software in its entirety. It will contain none of the limitations outlined under the “Free Version” definition.
4. What to do if the user does not agree with any part of the license file
By installing and using Color Crazy, you express your approval of the terms and conditions hereof and you are bound thereby. Should you disagree with the conditions and terms hereof, promptly terminate the use of this software and destroy any installed or downloaded copies of this program.
i.e. the user should stop using your software and remove everything that may have been downloaded/installed. Basically, the user HAS to agree with everything you say before he/she can use the software in any way!
5. Rules to allow/prevent distributing or modifying your software and its components
The following section applies to only Color Crazy Free Version 1:
The translation, reverse engineering, modification or patching of Color Crazy Free Version and its associated files are strictly prohibited. You are granted the right to distribute only the Color Crazy Free Version instillation software providing you do not translate, reverse engineer, modify or patch the Color Crazy Free Version instillation files in any way. The instillation software should NOT be distributed in conjunction with any other product without prior permission of SSOF Software.
The following section applies to only Color Crazy Plus Version 1:
Product Activation key acquired following purchase of Color Crazy Plus Version 1 is only permitted for use on a single computer system and is NOT granted for use on multiple computer systems including, but not limited to, networked computers.
SSOF Software strictly prohibits copying, emulating, renting, leasing, selling, modifying, decompiling, disassembling, otherwise reverse engineering or transferring the licensed program, registration key or any subset of Color Crazy Plus Version 1. Any such unauthorized use will result in immediate and automatic termination of this license and may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved by SSOF Software.
The above is a particularly good example because within the same license agreement, we have provided licenses for two different versions of the same product. This means that you do not have to produce multiple files. Also note how we give permission for people to distribute the instillation file of the free version (so that more people hear about the product) but the Plus (paid version) is reserved only for those who have paid to activate the product.
6. Disclaimer of warranty and Limitation of liability
In this section, you have to explain what warranty you are willing to provide and what liability you are willing to take for any losses. It is usually the cases that the software is provided without any warranty and you are not willing to be responsible for any losses that may arise as a result of the use of your software. If this is the case for you, you can write something like this:
COLOR CRAZY IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SSOF SOFTWARE HAS TESTED THE SOFTWARE EXTENSIVELY IN NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SETUPS, AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS, BUT YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. SSOF SOFTWARE AND HIS AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR APPLICATION OF OR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SOFTWARE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL SSOF SOFTWARE OR HIS AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SSOF SOFTWARE OR HIS AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH DAMAGES OCCURRING. SSOF SOFTWARE AND HIS AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGES OR COSTS, ARISING OUT OF, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS OR REVENUE, LOSS OF USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR THE MEDIA, LOSS OF DATA OR EQUIPMENT, THE COSTS OF RECOVERING THE SOFTWARE, THE MEDIA, DATA OR EQUIPMENT, THE COSTS OF RECOVERING THE SOFTWARE, THE MEDIA, DATA OR EQUIPMENT, THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SOFTWARE, MEDIA, DATA OR EQUIPMENT OR CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES, OR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS. SINCE LOCAL LEGISLATION IN SOME COUNTRIES DOES NOT ALLOW ANY EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. SSOF SOFTWARE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVOKE ANY OR ALL DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY OR NO REASON.
In capitals such that the importance of this is understood by the users!
Writing a license file can be a relatively straight forward process providing you have some details about the distribution of your software sorted first. Also, the wording can be as simple or as complicated as you want. It is not at all necessary to use any legal jargon!
Viewing too many examples can complicate things, however, you may wish to view an alternative models for writing a license file at this site. Another site you may want to visit is the proper license agreement for the Color Crazy software, which is a relatively complicated one given this is a demo project which can actually take payments.
Some people find the whole idea of producing something like this too complicated. Rightly so as well! why should you have to do this as a software programmer? If you have a little money to splash out or your software is a complicated one, you may deem it necessary to seek some professional help - why not give the following sites a try - ContractStore.com or DigiContracts.
After you have prepared your license file, you will need to display it to the user at the time of instillation. It should also be displayed within the help file. We will learn how to do this under the relevant sections.
