Editing End-user license agreement (section)

== Software copyright ==
{{main|Software copyright}}
{{Computing law}}
The [[source code]] (or compiled binaries in the form of [[object code]]){{sfn|Boyle|2003|p=45}} of a [[computer program]] is protected by [[copyright law]] that vests the owner with the exclusive right to copy the code. The underlying ideas or algorithms are not protected by copyright law, but are often treated as a [[trade secret]] and concealed by such methods as [[non-disclosure agreement]]s.{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|pp=394-396}} Software copyright has been recognized since the mid-1970s and is vested in the company that makes the software, not the employees or [[Independent contracting in the United States|contractor]]s who wrote it.{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|p=403}}{{sfn|Eichstädt |Spieker|2024|p=274}}

The tendency to license [[proprietary software]]—to sell the right of use of the software{{sfn|Eichstädt |Spieker|2024|p=273}} rather than a copy of the software—dates from the time period before the existence, then the scope of software copyright protection was [[legal certainty|clear]]. These licenses have continued in use after software copyright was recognized in the courts, and are considered to grant the company extra protection compared to copyright law.{{sfn|Terasaki|2013|p=469}} Virtually all proprietary software is not sold as a copy but rather as a license with associated EULA.{{sfn|King|2016|p=1373}}