Some legal issues concerning the subsistence of copyright in computer programs

Abstract

Computer programs are of great importance for business, commerce and the public in general. Unlike other literary works computer programs are dynamic in nature, that is, that they perform manipulations and calculations through the processing of symbols. As a result, computer programs are granted a large form of protection. This term paper explores copyright protection granted to computer programs. Initially, it examines the issue of the definition of a computer program and how the CJEU interpreted it as “computer programs in any mode or form of expression”. Subsequently, it highlights the difference between the protection granted to a GUI and other types of interfaces. Furthermore, it questions the boundary line of the preparatory design material and the idea-expression dichotomy. This paper then proceeds in discussing the requirement of originality as understood in the sense of the author's own intellectual creation. It explains how the requirement initially developed, as well as, what requisites an author must fulfil in order for his work to be considered original so that copyright protection may be granted. The final section examines the exclusive rights granted to an author or an owner of a computer program as provided for by EU law. These exclusive rights are compared to the ones catered for in Maltese law, where it may be noted that the ones found in the latter grant a broader protection. The term paper concludes by establishing the exceptions and limitations to the exclusive rights of a right holder. Once again comparing both EU law and Maltese law.