How do I protect Python code?

The very nature of Python makes the task of protecting the source code complicated because nothing can be protected against reverse engineering. Python, being a byte-code-compiled interpreted language, is very difficult to lock down. Even if you use a exe-packager like py2exe , the layout of the executable is well-known, and the Python byte-codes are well understood. To protect the only way is to license it, because even if you compiled your code, to lets say machine code, if your work is not protected by a license, it can still be commercialized against your will.