What Are Site Licensing Agreements?

People sometimes think that "site licensing" means that a license is "free" or that there are no restrictions on it. These licenses have restrictions that are similar to other software agreements, but they typically grant permission to distribute copies of licensed software for installation on more than one computer. There is a limit, however, on the number of copies.

The scope of the agreement may be limited to a department, or it may extend to the entire university community (current faculty, staff, and students). Some restrictions specify that the licensed software may only be installed on UW-owned computers; some permit installation on personally owned computers. Almost all academic license agreements require that the use of the software be university related and prohibit use for commercial purposes.

Each agreement has its own requirements for eligibility (affiliation, installation, and usage restrictions). Users may be required to participate in the cost of the software. A list of licensed software at the UW can be found on the Web at www.washington.edu/tech_home/software/site.html