ABSTRACT
For multimedia producers, software is the engine that drives the production and delivers it to the user audience. It fulfils the same function that transmitters and a broadcast system does for television producers. Without controlling access and distribution rights to software, multimedia producers are denied access to their targeted audience. This chapter is intended to provide an extended checklist of common concerns and the provision of adequate safeguards in using proprietary packages and commissioned software. More than any other media category, software licensing is subject to individual and sometimes idiosyncratic licensing agreements that vary widely from case to case. The golden rule is to read each licence carefully, not expecting each to follow a common pattern set by others.
