Proprietary protocol

In computer networking, a proprietary protocol is a communications protocol which is covered by a patent or copyright which is intended to give the license holder exclusive control of the technology to the (current or future) exclusion of others. Typically such restrictions attempt to prevent reverse engineering, though reverse engineering of protocols for the purposes of interoperability is generally believed to be legal by those who practise it. Legal positions differ according to each country's laws related to, among other things, software patents.

The opposite of a proprietary protocol is an open standard protocol.

Proprietors may enforce restrictions by technical means, such as by restricting source code access, or by legal means, such as through copyright and patents.

Examples

References

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