Software Licensing

Forgive me if this has been asked before. I've been doing quite a bit of research on the subject, but still am quite confused.
I understand about licensing and all, but what I'm confused on is how to obtain a license. Is this just something I write down, or is a specific place to obtain a license (such as VeriSign [ For example ] )? Would I go to an atorney, and have him create one for me?
I've seen people release different software with stuff like the GPL, but what if I'm wanting something different.

I'm asking all this because I am developing a small program which I hope to someday market. I'm not expecting lots of money or anything from this, I'm doing it for the experience and knowledge. I've considered releasing it under the GPL, but in case I, for some reason or another, decide I wanted to release it closed source, how I would get an apropriate EULA?

I've read through Microsoft's Sample EULA (For Windows XP Home), but there is absolutly no way I could come up with something of that nature. And I can't really afford a $100(USD)/hour lawer either. Is the Sample EULA up for grabs? Meaning, could I take out the irrelevant parts, adding a few extra's, and use it?

I'm quite lost.
Thanks for any help on this matter

IANAL, but this is how I understand it.

As the copyright holder, you may change the license agreement at will. This means you are not bound to the GPL, but can relicense your work under new terms. However, a user is bound to the agreement it was distributed under, so their rights under an open-source license are valid for that version. That if you go proprietary, a user may continue development with their version under the open-source license. You are not forced to distribute those open versions, so a lack of distribution is how an open system dies. Some companies use dual licenses, while others have changed. The best example is SSL, which was under the BSDL, made proprietary, and then continued by 3rd party developers under OpenSSL by extending the BSDL version.

If you do go open-source and accept anyone's contributions, then you will have a hard time changing the license. They own the copyright for their work and must agree to any changes on their code. Thus, I would force others to hand over the copyright to you when accepting code, to avoid this problem. Since most open source software fails, I wouldn't go that route if you are just looking for free developers/marketing, its a long shot and you'll still do most of the work as its your baby.

As for the rest, either consult a laywer or review what other companies have done. I would do the latter until success warrents paying or begging for legal aid. Most people fail to execute their visions, so focus on getting it working first.

If it's a rework of a GPL project, and it's intertwined (can't be easily distinguished from it's GPL predecessor as a component) you're obliged to licence it as GPL.

Free software is free as in choice, not as in price. You can charge for the software download for example (a reasonable sum).

If it's not based on a GPL product already, ie greenfield, then you have total control over it. You may look up some of the "Artistic Licenses".

The EULA from M$ is for a closed source product, are you intending to give away your source, and do you want others to be able to modify it.

The EULA is an agreement between you and the customer, that incorporates your terms and conditions

• Warranties, implied or explicit
• Fitness for purpose
• Not allowed to reverse engineer
• Your Liability as the author (ie 0)
• No authority to copy, reproduce, in whole or in part ...

Basically include anything you think you'll need to cover yer a$$

--Ax

I may have been a little confusing. I understand about software licensing, what I don't understand is how to make/get one.
Are the software licenses out there free to take and modify, or are they protected on copyright law? Obviously, I'm just a guy who couldn't possibly know what all to include in a software license, to keep myself safe. I also can't afford a lawer to make one for me. I've read quite a few of the free software foundation licenses, and I've found a few that are good, but I would like to change a small part or two, is this allowed?

Well, of course they are protected by copyright law. However, the real question is, does that matter? Do you honestly think Microsoft will sue you for copying section's from Hotmail's terms-of-use or privacy policy? Licenses are made to protect the company and aren't viewed as an asset on the books to protect. So its quite common for people create a license by combining aspects they saw in another company's. Its no big deal.

The only reason to see a lawyer is to get their legal advice. They'll know loopholes to be wary of, such as to assign the company copyright in a "work-for-hire" relationship. This and knowing what is legal and the best way to phrase things is a great benefit. I used an auto-generated NDA and had a lawyer friend review it, made her modifications, and then used it successfully.