Software has become an omnipresent force in our lives. It is used in all digital transactions, whether to sell something or to provide services to another party or for one's own internal purposes.
It is pertinent to note that software, just like any other property, is proprietary in nature. That is, it is owned by someone and is protected by copyright. There are few legal principles that apply to a software which one has to keep in mind while using software -
Software, being "property", is protected by copyright. Copyright is the legal protection of code to prevent unauthorized use. Property such as books, arts, music, software programs are protected by copyright. Copyright protection arises automatically once the property comes into existence (i.e., developing a software, writing a book, printing a document etc..). Specific copyright marking is not required for copyright protection to apply. However, one may still choose to give copyright notice to the public. Now this means that anything you find on the internet is automatically protected by copyright, irrespective of the fact whether the copyright notice is provided to you.
Software owner has the right to determine what one can or cannot do with the property. To be in compliance with this, one has to read the license agreement attached to the software. License agreement tells you what you can and cannot do with the software. License agreement is sometimes also referred to as "EULA", "End User License Agreement" or simply "Terms & Conditions". Few software also have these terms encapsulated within the software and can be accessed once the software is downloaded or may appear on the screen once the software is installed. These are oftentimes referred to as "Click-wrap" or "Shrink-wrap" agreements. Irrespective of the form in which these license agreements are provided, they hold the same weightage and significance and one should ensure that the terms provided therein are complied with.
