To me, that's like saying, "You can have a glass of water, but you can't have my car" is a contract. "Give me a dollar and you can have this glass of water" is

To me, that's like saying, "You can have a glass of water, but you can't have my car" is a contract. "Give me a dollar and you can have this glass of water" is a contract. edit: and to be a tiny bit less glib, a license is where I give up rights I already have, under particular conditions that I dictate. If you choose not to abide by those conditions, the only thing that happens is that I regain the ability to use the rights that I already have. I don't gain any super-copyright powers, or a more powerful copyright.