# Licensing patterns?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/licensing-patterns/110221>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [July 24, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/licensing-patterns/110221 "2007-07-24T12:17:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![timperrett](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@timperrett](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/timperrett)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/licensing-patterns/110221/1 "2007-07-24T12:17:18Z")

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Hey all

I was wondering what licensing patterns people had tried on this list?  
I know there have been conversations about compiling code to make it  
none readable and so forth, but the way I see it is that anything that  
can be compiled (take java for instance) can be de-compiled, so  
therefore if someone really wanted to read your source, there going to.  
No matter what you put in place.

So I then started thinking, ok, well if they read the source, the only  
way to stop an application working (or whatever) is to have a licensing  
strategy. Has anyone done any ruby licensing type systems? Online  
activation; license keys etc…

Cheers

Tim