How Do I License & Protect My Software?

[itamtodd]

I am in the process of developing a small program that I will be trying
to sell to different institutions. The program is written in VB and
uses an Access database.

Now how do I go about selling people a license for my software? And
also how do I protect my software from just being ripped off, i.e.
Encrypt it?


Thanks
-Todd

 

[Eric Sosman]

I am in the process of developing a small program that I will be trying
to sell to different institutions. The program is written in VB and
uses an Access database.

Now how do I go about selling people a license for my software? And
also how do I protect my software from just being ripped off, i.e.
Encrypt it?

Your best plan is to ask questions about licensing,
about Visual Basic, and about Access in a newsgroup that
has nothing to do with any of those topics. That will
make people will think you are a fool, and since they
won't believe a fool can write a worthwhile program they
will have no incentive to steal it.

Congratulations! You should be all set now.

 

[Default User]

Your best plan is to ask questions about licensing,
about Visual Basic, and about Access in a newsgroup that
has nothing to do with any of those topics. That will
make people will think you are a fool, and since they
won't believe a fool can write a worthwhile program they
will have no incentive to steal it.

Congratulations! You should be all set now.

In spades. He posted this, individually, to several groups.



Brian

 

[Walter Roberson]

I am in the process of developing a small program that I will be trying
to sell to different institutions. The program is written in VB and
uses an Access database.

Now how do I go about selling people a license for my software? And
also how do I protect my software from just being ripped off, i.e.
Encrypt it?

VB and Access suggests that your program is written for Microsoft Windows.
If so, then the known ways to prevent your software from being ripped off
are:

- don't write the program; or
- thoroughly destroy *all* of the equipment used immediately after
you finish writing the program and before even a single copy is made; or
- set the licensing conditions such that it is freely redistributable
(something can only be "ripped off" if you aren't already giving
it away); or
- use a hardware assist device that uses quantum entanglement
("action at a distance") to run the program on equipment under your
control [and I'd have to think more to determine whether this
method is completely secure.]

Techniques such as encryption will NOT prevent your software
from being ripped off: such techniques merely -delay- the software
from being ripped off. A much less expensive and much more effective
way to -delay- your software from being ripped off is to simply
write the software so badly that no-one would want to bother copying it.

 

[Gordon Burditt]

Now how do I go about selling people a license for my software? And

also how do I protect my software from just being ripped off, i.e.
Encrypt it?

License the program under the GPL. That way copying it won't
be "ripping you off".

Gordon L. Burditt

 

[CBFalconer]

I am in the process of developing a small program that I will be
trying to sell to different institutions. The program is written
in VB and uses an Access database.

Now how do I go about selling people a license for my software? And
also how do I protect my software from just being ripped off, i.e.
Encrypt it?

Insufficient information. We will have to see the source to give
any decent advice. Just paste it into a reply here and encrypt it
with ROT13. Then wait for sparkling advice. Just be sure that
your source compiles under standard C, which may require some
rewriting. Keep line lengths under 65 for usenet posting.

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we." -- G. W. Bush.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. All you have to do is tell them they are being
attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way
in any country." --Hermann Goering.

 

[Walter Roberson]

License the program under the GPL. That way copying it won't
be "ripping you off".

But under the GPL, if someone were to redistribute the binary without
the source, then the OP -would- be ripped off. To avoid being ripped
off, it is better to license under one of the other licenses
(one of the BSD ones maybe?)

 

[Lew Pitcher]

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But under the GPL, if someone were to redistribute the binary without
the source, then the OP -would- be ripped off.

I don't see how. Under the GPL, you do not have a licence to distribute
the binary without the source. Since someone who distributes GPLed
software without the source has violated the distribution licence, the
software author can take the distributor to court for copyright
violation. Such a violation wouldn't go uncompensated.

To avoid being ripped
off, it is better to license under one of the other licenses
(one of the BSD ones maybe?)

- From the "being ripped off" POV, the BSD licences are no help. As I
understand it, they give explicit permission for distributors to
repackage and distribute without accompanying source, and without
compensation to the original author. So, the original author doesn't
even have copyright law to fall back on to enforce compensation.

- --

Lew Pitcher, IT Specialist, Corporate Technology Solutions,
Enterprise Technology Solutions, TD Bank Financial Group

(Opinions expressed here are my own, not my employer's)
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[Gordon Burditt]

But under the GPL, if someone were to redistribute the binary without

the source, then the OP -would- be ripped off.

I disagree. *WHO* is ripped off if the binary is distributed without
the source? I'd say it's the *recipient*, not the author.

You do have a point, though.

To avoid being ripped
off, it is better to license under one of the other licenses
(one of the BSD ones maybe?)

Gordon L. Burditt

 

[Richard Heathfield]

Gordon Burditt said:

I disagree. *WHO* is ripped off if the binary is distributed without
the source? I'd say it's the *recipient*, not the author.

You do have a point, though.

Who does?

Please retain attributions.

Thank you.

 

[Mark McIntyre]

Insufficient information.

Not really - he told us its written in VB and Access, that pretty much
secures it from use

To the OP: this isn't a question for comp.lang.c, you might want to
STFW instead.

--
Mark McIntyre

"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are,
by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
--Brian Kernighan

 

[Richard Tobin]

To avoid being ripped
off, it is better to license under one of the other licenses
(one of the BSD ones maybe?)

[/QUOTE]

- From the "being ripped off" POV, the BSD licences are no help. As I
understand it, they give explicit permission for distributors to
repackage and distribute without accompanying source

I think you missed the joke. If you distribute under the Berkeley
licence, you are effectively agreeing that you won't consider any use
of it to constitute "ripping off".

-- Richard