Intellectual Property Protection of Software

CONTENTS
I INTRODUCTION;
Research Objective;
Methodology;
Hypothesis;
Research Questions;
Chapterization;
II A TECHNICAL PROLOGUE TO THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION OF SOFTWARE;
2.1. Tracing the History of Software;
2.2. Hazarding a Faux Passe - Comprehending Software;
2.3. Building Software - A Brief Overview;
2.4. 1mportant Characteristics of Computer Programs;
2.4.1. Computer programs are not only texts, they also behave;
2.4.2. Text and behaviour are largely independent;
2.4.3. Programs are machine whose medium of construction is text;
2.4.4. Many Programs Rei on Conceptual Metaphors to Organize Behaviour;
2.4.5 Programs are Industrial Compilations of Applied Know-How;
2.4.6 Innovation in Programs is Largely Incremental and Cumulative in Character;
III COPYRIGHT PROTECTION OF SOFTWARE;
3.1 A Historical Enquiry;
3.1.1 The 1976 Revision of the Copyright Law;
3.1.2 CONTU's Mandate From Congress;
3.1.3 CONTU on Copyrightability of Programs;
3.1.4 Following the CONTU Path;
3. 2 International Copyright Protection;
3.2.1. Berne Convention am:} the Universal Copyright Convention;
3.2.2 TRIPS;
3.2.3 WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996;
3.2. 4 European Community Directive on the Legal Protection of Computer Programs, 1991;
3.2. 5 US Copyright Law Judicial Precedents;
3.3. Doctrinal Difficulties of Fitting Computer Programs in Copyright Jurisprudence
3.3.1. The Failure of Machine-Readable Programs to Disclose the Ideas they Contain;
3.3.2. The "Utilitarian" Character of Machine-Readable Programs as a Copyright Problem;
Perceived Inadequacies of the Copyright Regime;
3.4.1 Cycles of Over Protection and Under Protection of Program Behaviour;
3.4.2 Inadequate Protection of interfaces;
3.4.3 Decompilation as Fair Use;
3.4.4 Author's Rights;
IV PATENT PROTECTION OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE
International Patent Protection;
4.1.1 The Paris Convention;
4.1.2 TRIPS;
.1.3 Europe;
Judicial Precedents;
4.1 .4 United States of America;
Judicial Precedents;
4.2. Perceived Limitations of Patent Protection;
4.2.1 Subject Matter Problems;
4.2.2 Prior Art Problems;
4.2.3 Disclosure Problems;
V TRADE SECRET PROTECTION
5.1.Definition and Elements;
5.1.1 The 'Novelty' Requirement;
5.1.2.The ' Value' Requirement;
The ' Secrecy' Requirement;
5.2. Scope;
5.2.1. Discovery through Proper Means;
5.2.2. Duty not To Disclose Created by Confidential Relationships;
5.3. Combining trade secret and Copyright Law;
5.4. Inadequacies of Trade Secret Protection;
VI CONCLUSION;
The Model Software Protection Act;
BIBLIOGRAPHY;