Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Software Copyright
Software Patent
What is protected?
Object program,
Software process with
screen displays
practical utility
Is getting protection expensive?
No
Yes
Is getting protection time consuming?
No
Yes
Is reverse engineering allowed?
Yes
No
TABLE 4.2
Both copyrights and patents have been used to provide intellectual property
protection to software. This table outlines the key differences between the two protection
systems.
Table 4.2 outlines the key differences between using copyrights and patents to pro-
tect software.
In the early years of commercial computing, there was no independent software indus-
try. Computer manufacturers such as IBM produced both the hardware and the software
needed for the system to be usable. Well into the 1960s, software distributions included
the source code. Customers who wanted to fix bugs in the programs or add new features
could do so by modifying the source code and generating a new executable version of
the program.
In the 1970s the number of computer applications expanded, and organizations
recognized the increasing value of software. To protect their investments in software
development, most companies decided to make their programs proprietary (owned).
Today companies developing proprietary software tightly control the distribution
of their intellectual property. Typically they do this by treating source code as a trade
secret and distributing only the object code, which is not in human-readable form. In
addition, they do not sell the object code. Instead, when people “purchase” the program,
what they are actually buying is a license allowing them to run the program. Their rights
to do other things with the code, such as make backup copies, are limited.
Governments have given ownership rights to those who produce computer software
because of the perceived beneficial consequences. A key benefit is the ability to profit
from the licensing of the software. The assumption is that people will work harder and
be more creative if they must compete with others to produce the best product. Those
who produce the best products will have the opportunity to make money from them.
While most people point to the benefits of a system encouraging the development
of proprietary software, some people have noted the harms caused by such a system. A
well-known critic of proprietary software is Richard Stallman. According to Stallman,
