NCJ Number
99951
Date Published
1985
Length
264 pages
Annotation
This text surveys general copyright issues and patent protection of computer programs and data under American, Canadian, and United Kingdom law, as well as trade secrets, confidentiality, and contractual and criminal protections.
Abstract
Following a brief overview of the legal and technical context for protection of programs and data, the book examines how copyright laws have developed to meet the challenge of accommodating new forms of expression, with attention to the boundaries of copyright as a legal concept, the merger of idea and expression, programs as machine parts, and questions of authorship and ownership. Copyright protections for programs and data in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are described. The book examines arguments for and against patent protection for computer programs and possible applications of existing patent law in the three countries. Also discussed are the scope of trade secrecy and confidentiality as sources of protection for software and data and possible criminal sanctions for their theft. Additional areas covered by the text include privacy and computers and the regulation of transborder data flows. Tables of cases and statutes, footnotes, and index.