The European Court of Justice has concluded that the functions performed by software applications – from drawing a box to performing complex statistical analyses – cannot be protected by copyright, opening the way for competitors to launch products that carry out the same tasks as existing programs without infringing intellectual property rights.
“To accept that the functionality of a computer program can be protected by copyright would amount to making it possible to monopolise ideas, to the detriment of technological progress and industrial development,” the Court said.
In effect, this gives the green light to reverse engineering of computer programs to produce look-alike versions. The ruling also opens the way for greater interoperability between computer systems, because software producers can use their understanding of functionality to ensure applications can be integrated with, and work alongside, existing products.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Judgement on software copyright will drive innovation - Science|Business
