A software licence (or software license in United States English) is a kind of licence that is used to set rules about how a piece of software can or cannot be used. After getting the software by either downloading it or buying it, you need to agree with the licence in order to use it. The licence is chosen or created by the software developer/creator or software publisher. Many licences answer questions such as "can I use this software commercially/to make money?", or "can I give this software to other people?", or in general, "in what ways am I allowed/permitted to use this software?".