Most software packages out there have licensing terms which protect them from copyright infringement such as re-distribution which would obviously cause financial losses to the development company. However, it seems like all the software developers, including the ones working in the underground market, want to protect their creations, even if it may sound a little bit awkward to release a license agreement for a malware infection. Liam Omurchu of Symantec informed a few days ago that some samples of the underground software circulating on the web are now protected by some sort of EULA which informs users that they are not allowed to distribute the software without paying for it.

However, it's interesting to notice the way developers attempt to protect their copyright: they threaten their clients that their piece of malware will be sent to antivirus companies in order to block them! And notice that such a tool is often used for compromising vulnerable computers, so a move like that would obviously make the clients' attacks useless if the targets have antivirus protection.

Here's what is mentioned in the EULA of an underground software, according to the Symantec official:

1. Does not have the right to distribute the product in any business or commercial purposes not connected with this sale.
2. May not disassemble / study the binary code of the bot builder.
3. Has no right to use the control panel as a means to control other bot nets or use it for any other purpose.
4. Does not have the right to deliberately send any portion of the product to anti-virus companies and other such institutions.
5. Commits to give the seller a fee for any update to the product that is not connected with errors in the work, as well as for adding additional functionality.

And what happens if a user infringes these terms? "The client loses any technical support. Moreover, the binary code of your bot will be immediately sent to antivirus companies."