The ALA fears that the software industry's licensing practices could be adopted by other copyright owners, including book publishers, record labels, and movie studios.

Hence, conventional licensing practices have caused distortions that make humanitarian use licenses a tool worth considering.

The appeals court found that several of Microsoft's licensing practices with PC makers were exclusionary, thus stifling competition and limiting consumer choice.

The Justice Department, after a year-long investigation, targeted a narrow set of Microsoft's licensing practices for prosecution.

For these products, it restricts third party distribution and exercises extreme caution in its licensing practices.

It analyzed the evidence and negotiated a consent decree based primarily on allegations regarding Microsoft's licensing practices.

Several of the principles are calls for nondiscriminatory licensing practices by an unnamed "owner of a dominant operating system" - Microsoft, obviously.

The judge complained that, even on the licensing practices, the agreement would simply require Microsoft to "sin no more."

The International Export Control Awareness School is part of combined government efforts to promote good licensing practice.

Microsoft has repeatedly insisted that its licensing practices do not require companies to make such commitments.