1. Software licensing

2. What does it mean?
Software licensing is the contract or End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) that binds vendors and users to conditions that stipulate:
How many copies can be made (eg; backup)
Who can alter the software
Can it be deployed to other devices.
When you purchase software, a portion of the purchase price will go to the developer.

4. Network/Seat license
A Per-seat license is a software license based on the number of individual users who have access to the software. For example, 50-user per-seat license would mean that up to 50 individually named users can access the program (compare named user licensing[1]).

5. Seat/per user license
“all Autodesk software will only be available on a subscription basis beginning 1 August, ”
These announcements yet again signal that the dominance of perpetual licensing in the market place is on decline.
In its place are the following:
Subscription Licensing: A subscription license enables buyers to rent their software over a contract period, rather than purchasing the license outright. Offerings, such as Salesforce.com, are examples of hosted or Software as a Service (SaaS)-based software to which one can subscribe. One can also purchase on-premises software using a subscription model. Subscription licenses also typically include the entitlement to new software releases and basic technical support over the period of the subscription.
Usage-based Licensing: Usage-based licenses enable organisations to “pay as you go” based upon some measure of consumption. That metric could be based on the number of accesses to the software, speed or disk capacity, or the amount of data transferred, to name a few. Like subscription models, usage based models allow enterprises to closely align cost to use.5
Capacity/Infrastructure: Software vendors frequently also charge for software based on the enterprise’s capacity or infrastructure. For instance, a license may be tied to the or the type of machine. This data is then converted to points, which have costs associated with them. This model helps make software more affordable to smaller companies, or those running smaller infrastructures – with costs rising as an organisation scales.

6. Commercial/proprietary
commercial/proprietary: Proprietary software is computer software for which the software's publisher or another person retains intellectual property rights—usually copyright of the source code, but sometimes patent rights. Proprietary software may also have licensing terms that limit the usage of that software to a specific set of hardware. Apple has such a licensing model for Mac OS X, an operating system which is limited to Apple hardware, both by licensing and various design decisions.

8. Legal implications
As consumers, breaching the EULA can be expensive and against the law. It breaches the Copyright Act of 1968 and may breach Consumer Law in Australia.
The relevant consumer law in Australia is set out in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA). The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) contained in Schedule 2 of the CCA provides consumer guarantees that cannot be excluded by contract. The definition of 'goods' under section 2 of the ACL includes computer software. The obligations under the consumer guarantees fall on the supplier of goods. The supplier is the entity that supplies (or resupplies) the goods for sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire- purchase to consumers.

9. Copyright Law
Software licensing is a chore. Like all chores it’s not glamorous but it must be done. And the punishment for failing to keep up-to-date can be staggering.
One West Australian metalworks business recently found out that being punished means much more than a slap on the wrist. Not only does the company have to pay $100,000 in damages, it is also facing an ongoing cost for regular software auditing. Plus it must pay the price of the original software licenses.
It’s the latest example of the Software Alliance’s (BSA) crackdown on businesses dodging their software licensing obligations. The BSA reached a record number of settlements with businesses in WA last year looks to be following the same course.

10. Consumer Law
Strictly speaking, developers are not required to comply with the ACL if they do not sell directly to consumers (such as when they sell through middlemen). However, as the end-user licence agreement for Consumer Software must comply with the ACL, developers would be well advised to ensure compliance for commercial viability of their Consumer Software.
Briefly, the consumer guarantees for software relate to the following:
1. acceptable quality 2. fit for a particular purpose 3. match description 4. match sample or demonstration model 5. express warranties 6. repairs and spare parts 7. title to goods