I would like to sell a software that has some open source competitors. Therefore I would like to include the source code with the binaries so that the company buying it can modify it as it wishes. The only catch is that the source code will NOT belong to the company, in other words, I would like to maintain the copyright and ownership over the code so I can sell to other companies, etc.
Is there a license name for this kind of model? The buyer can see the code, modify it for its needs, but it cannot take ownership over the code, in other words, it is licensed for a particular use/need and he cannot give or show the code to anyone else.
Buyers are more likely to be companies in that model, in other words, they will be able to take control of the product by modifying the source code, but they will not be able to take ownership of the original code or do anything with it besides the initial purpose they bought it for. It is still closed source. Only the companies that buy the product are entitled to see and modify the code but never to distribute it.
Best Answer
Like most of us here, I am not a lawyer, and questions of law are better suited for lawyers than programmers.
But what you are describing sounds like a fairly common non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-redistributable license.
"Non-exclusive" indicating that you are or may be licensing the same code to other customers. "Non-transferable" indicating that they can't sell their license to someone else. "Non-redistributable" indicating that they can't distribute your code in any fashion.
A quick Google came across this license from Intel. It's actually more liberal than what you're describing in that it allows the licensee to use the code in their own products and distribute them, as long as they are distributed in executable form only, which you probably don't want to allow. But the main thrust of it is very clear: you can use our source code, you can't give it to anyone else.