copy protection

American  

noun

Computers.

1. a routine that is included in a program by its publisher to prevent the software from being duplicated except for a single backup copy.

---

Other Word Forms

• copy-protected adjective

Example Sentences

There was always the possibility of surprise — a mislabeled tape or a prankster foiling the copy protection tab and adding a weird home movie at the end of “Sleepless in Seattle.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2017

One journalist observed that the court’s ruling “prompted printer companies to try and develop more intricate forms of copy protection for cartridges.”

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2016

In a lawsuit filed today, it argues that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s rules against circumventing copy protection — designed to stop people from pirating copyrighted works — places unconstitutional limits on free speech.

From The Verge • Jul. 21, 2016

It’s more like the Kaleidescape movie server, in that it’s a hard drive with a lot of copy protection.

From Forbes • Oct. 4, 2013

Once "cracked" of its copy protection, the program, being digital data, becomes infinitely reproducible.

From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce