Abstract :
A comparative overview is given of copyright and patent protection for computer software under US law. The two forms of protection are compared in terms of a number of factors, including subject matter, scope of protection, level of disclosure required, and relative cost. A number of second generation software copyright issues are discussed, such as protection of the structure, sequence, and organization of programs, the look and feel of user interfaces, and the clean-room approach to the design of compatible software.<>
Keywords :
industrial property; legislation; US law; clean-room; compatible software; computer software; level of disclosure; look and feel; organization; patent/copyright interface; programs; relative cost; scope of protection; second generation software copyright issues; sequence; software protection; structure protection; subject matter; user interfaces; Computer aided instruction; Copyright protection; Costs; Distributed computing; History; Law; Programming profession; Software design; Software protection; User interfaces;
