- Public domain
- Items placed in
the public domain are free of all restrictions.
- Freeware or
"Copyleft"
- These items are
protected by copyright, but the owner has given permission
for free non-commercial distribution. You should read the
copyright terms to determine if the author has retained any
distribution rights. For example, many "freeware"
copyrights require you to obtain permission before including
the software in a commercial product.
- Shareware
- These are commercial
programs distributed on the "honor" system. You
are permitted to copy the program and use it for a specific
time period (typically 30 days). If you decide to keep the
program, you must then pay a shareware fee to the copyright
holder. Shareware has become a popular method for small software
publishers since it bypasses conventional marketing channels.
- Demoware
- Demoware are crippled
copies of commercial software. They permit you to test out
the program, but you must purchase the software before you
gain full functionality. For example, the demoware may be
identical to the full product except that it cannot print
or save documents.
- Copy Protected
- Some copyrighted
software includes special coding that prevents successful
copying. This can take the form of an encryption key, use
of a hardware enabler, or use of a special key disk. In recent
years, copy protection has fallen into disfavor since it often
introduces many complications for legitimate users
It is important
to note that copy protection is NOT the same as copyright.
Even if an item is not copy protected, it may still be copyrighted
and therefore illegal to duplicate the material.
Useful copyright
links
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