Proprietary software is protected by copyright.
Proprietary software is software that limits or prohibits its reproduction , distribution and/or modification . The permission to carry out these tasks is held by the legal or natural person who is the owner of the software and who has the corresponding copyrights .
It should be noted that software is a computer program that, thanks to its various applications, enables the execution of different tasks on a computer (computer). Owner , on the other hand, is something that has a property right .
The idea of proprietary software arose in opposition to the notion of free software . Free software can be defined as software that grants the user freedom to use, copy, modify and distribute the program in question: therefore, proprietary software is software that does not grant these rights.
Proprietary Software Features
Specifically, we can establish that the main hallmarks that characterize proprietary software are the following:
- It cannot be distributed without the permission of its owner.
- No type of modification can be made to its source code .
- It is common that those who are going to use it have to undertake different courses in order to learn how to use it.
Experts explain that the English concept proprietary software is associated with the private control of the computer program. The literal translation of the expression into our language causes this meaning to be lost: it would be more appropriate to speak of "software owned by..." .
Being subject to copyright, violating licenses linked to proprietary software can constitute a crime . If a person purchases proprietary software whose distribution without consent is prohibited, and decides to make several copies of said program to give to his friends, he will be violating the copyright of the owner of the software. According to the terms of the proprietary software, your friends should purchase their own licenses. Conduct that leads to copying and giving away this software is therefore susceptible to legal punishment.
Anyone who uses proprietary software cannot modify or distribute the program freely.
Your advantages
It is also interesting to keep in mind that there are many defenders of this type of software, considering that it has a long list of advantages:
- It has a better finish than other types of applications on the market.
- It is considered to have great protection against copies thanks to its copyright.
- It can be easily purchased at any specialized computer store.
- It has a better design in terms of graphics.
- It is also determined that specific programs can be found for companies or for certain tasks.
Detractors of proprietary software
However, we cannot forget that it also has its detractors. In this case, they speak out against the proprietary software for the following reasons:
- Which is impossible to copy and modify.
- It does not have versions for all types of platforms.
- That the support is exclusive to the owner in question.
- That its cost is higher than that of other types of software.
- It presents a notable series of restrictions on its use.