

Ask HN: How do I write a software license? - olavk

I need to choose (or write) a license for a piece of commercial software. I wonder if anyone here have some experience, ressources or good advice?<p>Are there some commmon boilerplate licenses I can find and copy, or do I need to write one from scratch? Can I write one myself, or do I need a lawyer to do it? Can I just write something in plain language, or do it have to be WITH CAPITAL LETTERS AND IN UNREADABLE LEGALESE to be valid?<p>The conditions I need are fairly ordinary - the software is licensed per user, but I want it to be freely usable for tryout and educational purposes.
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cperciva
Talk to a lawyer, but I recommend looking at existing licenses (especially
free software licenses) first and putting together a draft based on those.
Lawyers almost never write anything from scratch; instead, they re-use
boilerplate. If you turn up at your lawyer's office with a collection of
boilerplate and say "here's what I've put together, here's what I think it
means, can you see anything wrong with this" you'll end up paying far less
than if you ask him to write everything for you.

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dpifke
I would recommend "The IT/Digital Legal Companion", which discusses the things
to think about and provides some sample licenses:

[http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Legal-Companion-
Comprehensive-...](http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Legal-Companion-
Comprehensive-Business/dp/1597492566)

...followed by a review by a real lawyer. :)

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markup
I suggest you to go for the lawyer, a good and skilled lawyer who understands
software licensing issues.

