this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2026
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This is not specifically true.
You still license a copy; almost no software is sold for ownership. Since day 1 software has been licensed. Even FOSS.
Now, buying it from GOG and getting a complete, offline, DRM-free installer gives you a lot of flexibility with that license. It’s certainly harder to take from you. But you’ve never owned software.
This is the exact way physical copies of games work as well. Still can't be taken away from you.
Well yeah, actually buying the copyright to the software would be quite expensive. Everything is a license to use the software. I don't own the Linux kernel, but to use it I need a copy of it, but I don't own the copyright to it. But I'm licensed to copy the Linux kernel.
You only really own things you've either made yourself, or have purchased the actual copyright... which is probably not for sale and if it is it's going to be in the millions at least. Everything else is licensed.