Is a SaaS agreement a license?

I have a SaaS business and am wondering if this can be used as a software license as well. We have a terms of service and privacy policy for our website, but we don't have a standalone SaaS agreement we use with customers. I think we need some sort of software license for enterprise customers, but I'm not sure. Is a SaaS agreement the same as a software license? Can a company like me just operate under Terms of Service?

Octavia P.

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This is a great question as many business SaaS providers are confused about SaaS agreements and if they are the same as a software license. There is indeed a difference between a SaaS agreement and a software license. The main difference is that a software license provides a customer the right to tangible products or services that are delivered in some format. In contrast a SaaS does not deliver products or services since the software and platform remain with the provider. As a result, a SaaS promises the customer access and use of the provider’s cloud services remotely via the internet or private network. When SaaS is being provided to enterprises or B2B clients, for their internal business purposes, providers will often use a master SaaS agreement that can be negotiated and signed. Please also see this informative Contracts Counsel resource on SaaS Agreements https://www.contractscounsel.com/t/us/saas-agreement