Econom ical
D im e nsions:
-- Th e cost of produ cing th e first u nit of
softw are is al
w ays h igh .
-- Softw are as a finish e d produ ct su pe r-
im pose s no re strictions for th e
de ve l
ope r to re produ ction.
-- Th e costs of softw are produ ction h ave
an atypical
anatom y diffe ring from th e
e conom ie s of scal
e .
-- Softw are h as a h igh cost of produ ction
b u t an e xtre m e l
y l
ow m arginal
cost of
re produ ction.
-- Th e cost of storing and acce ssing
softw are is l
ow .
Le gal
D im e nsions:
-- Th e b e h avior of softw are re pre se nts
th e inte rnal
s of a b u sine ss proce ss.
Th u s, th e b e h avior b e com e s val
u ab l
e
in th e softw are m ark e t. Know ing th e
im pl
e m e ntation of b e h avior can not
b e a b ig issu e .
-- Softw are is an intangib l
e asse t and
m ay b e prote cte d by copyrigh t.
Sociol
ogical
D im e nsions:
-- Softw are b e ing a digital
w ork can b e
vu l
ne rab l
e to pe rfe ct copying, and
u nl
im ite d copie s ide ntical
to th e
original
can b e m ade .
-- Th e produ ce r/consu m e r re l
ationsh ip
is significant w h e n de ve l
oping
softw are .
Te ch nol
ogical
D im e nsions:
-- Softw are doe s not de te riorate
ph ysical
l
y w ith w e ar and te ar.
-- Softw are can m al
fu nction du e to th e
ne gl
ige nce of a u se r or can b e affe cte d
by viru s attack s.
-- D iffe re nt im pl
e m e ntations of th e give n
softw are can b e avail
ab l
e for diffe re nt
pl
atform s.
-- Ne w softw are can arise by m e rging of
variou s softw are e l
e m e nts.
-- Th e intangib l
e natu re of softw are
m ak e s it concu rre ntl
y avail
ab l
e to
m any consu m e rs.
A softw are produ ce r can m ak e a de cision
on h ow th e softw are can b e consu m e d by
u se rs and w h at righ ts to provide u se rs.
A consu m e r h as th e righ t to k now h ow
h e /sh e can u se th e softw are . A l
ice nse e x-
pre sse s th e se righ ts.
G.R . Gangad h aran is a d octoral
stu d e nt at th e
U nive rsity of Tre nto, Tre nto, Ital
y. H is re se arch
inte re sts incl
u d e Se rvice O rie nte d Com pu ting,
Inte l
l
e ctu al
Prope rty R igh ts, Fre e /O pe n Sou rce
Softw are Syste m s, Softw are Engine e ring, and
Bu sine ss M od e l
s of Softw are and Se rvice s.
R e com m e nde d R e ading
1. Kau l
, I., and M e ndoz a, R ., Advancing
th e Conce pt of Pu b l
ic Goods, in th e b ook
Providing Gl
ob al
Pu b l
ic Goods: M anaging
Gl
ob al
iz ation (Editors: Kau l
, I., Conce icao,
P., Le Gou l
ve n, K., and M e ndoz a, R .)
O xford U nive rsity Pre ss, Ne w York (2003)
2. Kooth s, S., Lange nfu rth , M ., and Kal
w e y,
N., O pe n Sou rce Softw are : An Econom ic
Asse ssm e nt, Te ch nical
Re port ISSN 1612-
9 032, M u e nste r Institu te for Com pu tational
Econom ics (2003)
S oftw are Licens e: a Curtain
Rais er
17
