Software licensing strategy involves the decision-making process and implementation of rules or policies for protecting the intellectual property of a software developer. A wide variety of software licensing strategies exist to meet the needs of the software developer as well as the end user or enterprise that will be utilizing the software. Common licensing strategies include per-user licensing, per-computer licensing, per-client licensing (typically seen in server/client applications like databases), site licensing, floating licensing and non-commercial licensing, which is commonly seen in freeware and open source software applications.
Also see “Is Software Ownership the Same as Licensing?” in the “Did You Know…” section of Webopedia.
