Proprietary license

Proprietary software is all software that is made available under conditions that do not allow free use, modification and re-distribution. Using proprietary software to generate research results is a problem because it usually prohibits or hinders reproducibility and transparency, which are core scientific principles.

Software written by researchers often becomes proprietary by accident: If you do not license your software, copyright law (“Urheberrecht”) applies automatically. Any software encumbered with full copyright restrictions is practically not usable for other researchers. It is important that you license your software or waive the copyright!