When installing software, you will almost ALWAYS be presented with a EULA (End User License Agreement) which you must agree to by clicking a button before installation can continue.
If you don't have a volume or site license, you LIKELY have either a single-user or a single-computer license.
RECENTLY some software vendors have been experimenting with ¨subscription model¨ pricing for software.
-SPECIFICALLY-, you don't own the software, but you're renting it for a monthly or annual fee.
It is important to note that although licensing agreements declare a certain set of rights for those who purchase and use the software, there is CURRENTLY much debate about how much validity many of these licenses have in light of US government laws regarding Fair Use of copyrighted works.
Some software companies have started creating licenses that -ESSENTIALLY- authorize them to automatically access a user's machine via the Internet to gather information about software usage, automatically update software, and so on.
Software with the GNU Public License, BSD License, or any one of several alternative Open Source licenses, is -ALWAYS- distributed for free.