Proprietary software code is software that is usually owned by the person or firm who has developed it. Typically, there are restrictions in place regarding its use and the underlying source code for the software is a closely guarded secret. Software code can be very valuable, and is often hard to patent, meaning that it can lack the protection that registered IP receives. Software code can contain algorithms, data analysis properties or data consolidation and can often be just as valuable as the software it might relate to.