Software copyrights

Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement more commonly referred to as piracy where works protected by copyright law are used without permission. Where there is no direct copying of code, line-for-line, it can be difficult to prove that copying has actually occurred. One way of trying to make copying easier to detect is to include redundant code or program components in among the real code.

If an alleged copy includes the same redundant program components, even if they are not line-for-line copies, it can provide a very strong inference that copying has occurred.

Independent software vendors should be very careful about disclosing source code. If someone can independently create from scratch what you have produced, just by looking at your source code, providing that the code is substantively different then your software copyright has not been infringed. However, ultimately any unauthorized use of the software is deemed to be piracy or theft, in recognition of the commercial harm of infringement of copyright holders.

Software copyright can be difficult to enforce. However, using an identity-based licensing solution will ensure that you always know who your end-users are.

Software Intellectual Property. Software Licence Compliance. Software Licensing Guide — Why is it so important? Software Licensing Solutions — Guide Your Email Address. This article will give you a quick overview to software copyright and its basics.

What is Software Copyright? How to copyright software Software copyright is predominantly used by software developers and proprietary software owners to prevent unauthorized copying of their software. The problem comes if someone infringes on your copyright. Then, suddenly, the protection is no longer automatic. Copyright Office. This is a complex and evolving area of law. It is not possible to give anything more than a very brief introduction here but if you have a specific question about copyright in software then a member of our legal services team will be happy to help you.

If you have a question about a dispute relating to copyright then a member of our dispute resolution team can help you. This information is simplified and must not be taken as a definitive statement of the law or practice. Our IP specialists work at all stage of the IP life cycle and provide strategic advice about patent, trade mark and registered designs, as well as any IP-related disputes and legal and commercial requirements. Read our blogs to keep up to date with developments in the IP world and what we are up to at Mewburn Ellis.

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In most countries, the law doesn't allow the software to be patentable. In such a case, copyright laws are your only method to protect your software from unlawful use. What's more, copyrighted software can give you better terms in different licensing agreements. These are only some of the benefits that you can get from copyrighting software. At the same time, it's essential to know in what ways your software copyrights can be infringed.

That's what we're going to touch upon in the next section. End-user license piracy occurs when end-users violate the terms of this license. This can take many forms, such as using unlicensed software or using more copies of the software than the user is licensed to use. This form of infringement takes place when PCs are sold with unlicensed software preloaded.

Many dealers also buy one legal license but make illegal copies of it for multiple uses. This is the most common form of software copyright infringement, where a duplicate copy or sham replica of software is sold purporting to be the original software. Nothing new needs to be said about online software piracy, where illegal copies of software are placed on third-party servers. These can be downloaded for free in most cases. So, if there's one thing clear from the above discussion, it's this: software is protected by copyright laws , whereas inventions, even those that use the software, are protected by patents.

Of course, the details of such protection vary from country to country, with some regions granting patents for software ideas as well. Now, the question arises: if software copyrighting is an automatic process and your source code is your own, then why do you need to worry about copyrighting the software in the first place.

The truth is, the problem is deeper than you'd think at first glance. Today, the most valuable businesses in the world are technology companies. Be it Google, Apple, Microsoft, or Samsung, technology is the end-all be-all of the 21st century.

Even traditional businesses are massively reliant on technological solutions for running their day-to-day operations. And wherever there's technology, there's software. And wherever there is software, there are lawsuits. We don't really pay much attention to these aspects when using technology, but major corporations today are fighting legal battles over the ownership of code. As one business creates software, very soon thereafter, others will emulate the functionality and come out with similar tools.

Since ideas can not be patented, the question of rightful ownership arises. But why is code ownership such a messy concept? Ask any coder, and they will tell you that coding itself is a messy and complicated process.