Proprietary software (also called non-free software or closed-source software) is
software with restrictions on using, copying and modifying as enforced by the
proprietor. Restrictions on use, modification and copying are achieved by either legal or technical means and sometimes both. Technical means include releasing machine-readable
binaries to users and withholding the human-readable
source code. Legal means can involve
software licensing,
copyright, and
patent law.
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