10 Key Terms To Make Clear In Every Software Licensing Agreement

Most businesses – from start-ups to SMEs to multi-nationals, and from private family-owned businesses to public corporations – will use software as a tool to grow: as a customer purchasing it to use or incorporate into a product offering, or as a developer or provider. Increasingly, businesses are using cloud-based technologies to take advantage of the critical IT infrastructure and e-commerce tools and efficiencies the cloud has enabled. Whether in the cloud (note the authors' bias: we wrote this article on Google Docs) or not, this software use typically means the business will enter a software licensing agreement. Here are 10 key terms that should be clear in every software licensing agreement.