Proprietary software or closed source software is computer software that is owned by an individual or organization. This individual or organizations holds exclusive legal right of the software intent that the licensee, or software user is given the right to use it only under certain conditions, and restricted from other uses, such as modification, sharing, studying, redistribution, or reverse engineering.[1][2] Usually the source code, or the programming code that makes up the software is not made available.
Complementary terms include free software,[2][3] licensed by the owner under more permissive terms, and public domain software, which is not subject to copyright and can be used for any purpose. Proponents of free and open source software use proprietary or non-free to describe software that is not free or open source.[4][5]
A related, but distinct categorization in the software industry is commercial software which refers to software produced for sale, but without meaning it is closed source.
According to Eric S. Raymond, in the Jargon File, "In the language of hackers and users" it is used pejoratively, with the meaning of "inferior" and "a product not conforming to open-systems standards".[6]
- ↑ FAQ about Copyright - Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. Chillingeffects.org. Retrieved on 2013-06-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 proprietary software is opposite of free software. Linfo.org (2005-07-03). Retrieved on 2013-06-16.
- ↑ Why Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS, FOSS, or FLOSS)? Look at the Numbers!. Dwheeler.com. Retrieved on 2013-06-16.
- ↑ "Categories of Free and Nonfree Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)". Retrieved 2011-10-25.
Proprietary software is another name for nonfree software.
- ↑ Vasudha Venugopal. "Free software and basic freedom". The Hindu. quoting Richard M. Stallman.
- ↑ proprietary. Catb.org. Retrieved on 2013-06-16.