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Commercial software, or seldom payware, is a
computer software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...
that is produced for sale or that serves commercial purposes. Commercial software can be
proprietary software Proprietary software is software that is deemed within the free and open-source software to be non-free because its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner exercises a legal monopoly afforded by modern copyright and i ...
or free and open-source software.


Background and challenge

While
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...
creation by programming is a time and labor-intensive process, comparable to the creation of physical
goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not ...
, the reproduction, duplication and sharing of software as
digital goods Digital goods or e-goods are intangible goods that exist in digital form. Examples are Wikipedia articles; digital media, such as e-books, downloadable music, internet radio, internet television and streaming media; fonts, logos, photos and gr ...
is in comparison disproportionately easy. No special machines or expensive additional resources are required, unlike almost all physical goods and products. Once a software is created it can be copied in infinite numbers, for almost zero cost, by anyone. This made
commercialization Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into ...
of software for the
mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds wi ...
in the beginning of the computing era impossible. Unlike hardware, it was not seen as trade-able and commercialize-able good. Software was plainly shared for free ( hacker culture) or distributed bundled with sold hardware, as part of the service to make the hardware usable for the customer. Due to changes in the computer industry in the 1970s and 1980s, software slowly became a commercial good by itself. In 1969, IBM, under threat of antitrust litigation, led the industry change by starting to charge separately for (mainframe) software and services, and ceasing to supply source code. In 1983 binary software became copyrightable by the '' Apple vs. Franklin'' law decision, before only source code was copyrightable. Additionally, the growing availability of millions of computers based on the same
microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...
architecture created for the first time a compatible mass market worth and ready for binary retail software commercialization.


Commercialization models for software

Common business wisdom is that software as digital good can be commercialized to the mass-market most successful as
proprietary {{Short pages monitor