Hearing that phrase from the nice officer that just pulled you over is like fingers on a chalkboard for most of us. But since we usually are in possession of, and understand these simple documents readily, a traffic stop is a day at the beach compared to the licensing madness that surrounds the use of most commercial software.

Over the past few decades, myriads of approaches have developed as a result of software vendors attempting to monetize a thoroughly nebulous commodity. It has reached a point where end-user departments and resellers alike are requiring full-time positions just to manage the specific discipline of complying with a dizzying array of options.
Both server and client-side software have their particular nuances. Client licenses can be charged based on named users (as counted, for example in an Active Directory) or Named DEVICE (such as Thin Clients, used by multiple shifts in a Call Center or Nursing Station.)

Server software licenses are often much more arcane, and can be based on combinations of Processor Cores, Clock Speeds, physical processor SOCKETS, etc.

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