Software, copyright, and competition : the "look and feel" of the law

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Bibliographic Information

Software, copyright, and competition : the "look and feel" of the law

Anthony Lawrence Clapes ; illustrations by Lisa Clapes

Quorum Books, 1989

  • lib. bdg. : alk. pap

Available at  / 7 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-231)

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book deals comprehensively with the question of the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. Offering a unique blend of scholarship, technical rigor, and readability, it dispels the confusion and controversy that surround the application of copyright law to computer programs. Through an orderly development of facts and analysis it shows why the copyright law is the appropriate regime for software protection and explains the nature of copyright protection for software. Alternating between essay format and case study, the book provides expert counsel to those interested in this interface between technology and law. Software, Copyright, and Competition: The `Look and Feel' of the Law, is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of legal scholarship in any subject this editor has ever had the pleasure to read. As to its subject matter, it is the best analysis of `look and feel' written to date. . . . The book is very readable. Not only does the author `explain' the law for the non-lawyer, but he explains the `zen' of computer programming to the non-programmer. With wit and insight he puts to rest the many old wives tales the legal community believes about programmers. . . . In the best of all possible worlds, this book would be mandatory reading for any judge or arbitrator faced with a `look and feel' case. The Software Law Bulletin, January 1990 Two forces, innovation and imitation, fuel the intense competition that underlies the dramatic technological progress taking place in the computer industry. As the competitive battleground shifts increasingly to the software sector, a vigorous debate has arisen over whether the principal legal regime for protecting the asset value of computer programs--the copyright law--encourages or inhibits that competition. Industry executives, computer lawyers, law professors and lawmakers alike are participating in the debate, the outcome of which will quite literally shape the future of the computer industry. This book deals comprehensively with the question of the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. Offering a unique blend of scholarship, technical rigor, and readability, it dispels the confusion and controversy that surround the application of copyright law to computer programs. Through an orderly development of facts and analysis it shows why the copyright law is the appropriate regime for software protection and explains the nature of copyright protection for software. Alternating between essay format and case study, the book provides expert counsel to those interested in this interface between technology and law.

Table of Contents

Introduction Setting the Stage Learning from the Past The Business of Writing Software Apple v. Franklin Castles in the Air, and on Diskette The Art of Programming Writing for Computers Programming Languages: The SAS Case Programming Structures: The Synercom Case Programming Flow Program Logic and Other Elements of Expression Whelan v. Jaslow The Shaping of the Invisible The Range of Programming Expression NEC v. Intel Bright Lines and Gray Areas: The Frybarger Case The "Dissemination" Argument: Broderbund v. Unison World Clean Rooms and Fright Wigs: The Plains Cotton Case and Some Principles for Software Clones Rights of Copyright Owners: The Softklone Case IBM v. Fujitsu An Introduction to Compatibility Compatibility Demons: Johnson v. Uniden and Further Principles for Software Clones The "Look and Feel" Cases Into the Corrida Index

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