An analysis of the Council Directive on the legal protection of computer programs

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to analyse the Council Directive on the Legal Protection of Computer Programs. In the first chapter the relevance of copyright and other intellectual property rights in relation to computer programs is discussed. The ostensible reasons for the choice of copyright are examined. The antecedents of the Directive are also considered since they convey a better understanding of its present wording. The second chapter deals with the scope of the protection afforded by the Directive. The central concepts of· originality and the idea/expression dichotomy are discussed in detail with especial reference to European and United States case-law that deals with these issues. Chapter three treats the question of authorship and the beneficiaries of the protection. Chapter four discusses those acts which are not permitted to be done by the lawful acquirers of computer programs unless expressly authorised by the right holder whilst chapters five and six deal with the exception to these restricted acts and the special decompilation rights introduced by the Directive. In chapter seven issues concerning special measures of protection, the term of protection and the continued application of other legal provisions protecting computer programs are examined. Reference is also made to other relevant Community secondary legislation. Finally, the European Union's present and foreseeable future orientation with regard to computer software protection in the light of the recent Green Paper on copyright and related rights in the Information Society [COiv1(95) 3 82] together with the adequacy of copyright protection are the argument of the last chapter. The scope of the Directive is related to its implementation in a selective sample of Member States of the European Union while the importance and the relationship of the Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the recent WIPO Copyright Treaty to the Community measure are also kept to the fore. Throughout the dissertation the position will be continually compared to and contrasted with the copyright regime in, mainly, the United States and other countries where appropriate.