Softwars : the legal battles for control of the global software industry
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Softwars : the legal battles for control of the global software industry
Quorum Books, 1993
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Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Softwars: The Legal Battles for Control of the Global Software Industry explains why the future of the computer industry depends on the nature and extent of intellectual property protection for the software that controls computer hardware. The softwars it discusses are the confrontations taking place in the courtroom, in the legislative chambers and in professional symposia around the world in which the scope of intellectual property protection for computer software is being debated and, in some cases, determined. In a highly readable and entertaining series of essays, the author explains the influences of clones, hackers, vendors of proprietary systems, vendors of open systems, software patents, copyrights and trade secrets on the evolution of the industry. No other book to date has provided either as lucid a description of the major litigation involving software protection or as cogent an analysis of the economic and strategic consequences of that litigation.
Softwars is divided into five parts, each consisting of two or more essays. In Part I, the author discusses the nature of computer programs and the history of intellectual property protection for computer programs. Part II deals with the look and feel issue; it explains what constitutes infringement of rights in screen displays and other aspects of user interfaces, and the importance of the issue. Part III concerns the practice known as reverse engineering of software; who does it, why, and what the legal and economic consequences are. In Part IV, the reader is led to the boundaries of the legal debate, where the limits of the law are being tested. Part V is the author's conclusion and prognostications for the future of the computer industry and the law. Anyone interested in the intersection of law and technology, and particularly those involved in the computer industry, will find Softwars valuable and compelling reading.
Table of Contents
Preface At the War College A Brief Discourse on the Spoils of War: The Nature of That Which Is Being Contested Aerial Reconnaisance: The First Two Decades of the Softwars Fear and Loathing, Look and Feel Gaining Enlightenment from the Lotus Sutra After the Fall: The Weak Protectionists Regroup "You Could Look It Up": Why Copyright Law Protects the Yellow Pages But Not the White Pages Never-Ending Stories: Ashton Tate v. Fox, Apple v. Microsoft and the Future of User Interfaces Heavy Artillery: The Patent Laws as Armaments in the Softwars Engineers of Monotony Beyond Arbitration: Fujitsu and IBM Take Their Show on the Road At Sea Over Reverse Engineering: The Bonito Boats Case Antipodean Logic: Autodesk v. Martin Dyason "Been Down so Long it Looks Like Up to Me": IBM v. AMI The Lady Vanishes: An Academic Ventures into the Real World and Retreats in Dismay Thinking about the Unthinkable Circuit Theory: Nonliteral Copying by Any Other Name The Outer Limits: Laseroomb v. Reynolds Revenge of the Nerds: Guerillas, Terrorists, Peaceniks and the Legion of Doom "All that Glitters": Nintendo v. Atari, the Nightmare Scenario Some Animals Are More Equal than Others: "Open Systems", Truce or Consequences? Conclusion for Now "The One Who Controls the Software... ": A Meditation on the Future of the Softwars
by "Nielsen BookData"
