Current Copyright And Patent Laws Weak And

Current Copyright And Patent Laws: Weak And Ineffective Essay, Research Paper

The world of today is drastically different from that of twenty years ago. Ideas, life, and technology have changed in many ways. Computers and software have developed significantly since the start of the computer revolution. From the first computer, software has become more important. Our lives all revolve around computers and software. People use them to make math easier with calculators, and use them to withdraw money on the go with ATM machines. However, even with all the technological help that has presented in the past few decades, software and the people who write it barely protected by law. Current copyright and patent laws are not strong enough to protect programmers’ rights, and they even slow down software development and reduce competition; software is not a physical thing and by nature completely defenseless, as it is more or less simply intellectual property, and thus, is very easily copied.

There are two categories of intellectual property. The first one is composed of writing, music, and film, which are covered by copyright. Patents cover inventions and innovations (Bassinger 24-28). These two categories have safely covered many kinds of work, with little or no conflict for years. For example, Susan Willis described Disney World’s strict policy on photography in her essay, “Disney World: Public Use/Private State:”

“The merchandise, the costumes, the scenery .V all is either stamped with the Disney logo or Covered by copyright legislation.K it is impossible to photograph at Disney World without running the risk of infringing a Disney copyright,” and “the only thing that saves the average family from a lawsuit is that most don’t use their vacation photos as a means for making profit” (Willis 751).

Unfortunately, it is not that easy when dealing with such a complex matter such as computer software. For example, there is a program that can perform specific tasks.Xcreating, editing, deleting, and formatting texts.Xsuch as Microsoft Word. Before, the program could be used to do those specific jobs; the program is in the text format that is just like an essay with strange form. Therefore, when something is typed on a computer, it is considered writing, as it is all written words and numbers. However, when executed by the computer, it functions like an invention, performing a specific task as instructed by the user. Thus, software falls into both categories (Salone 25).

As illustrate above, software can either fall into the categories of copyrights or patent laws; therefore, there is no perfect protection for software and its programmers. “Copyright law in the US is derived from English copyright law (Statute of Anne) and common law,” which “Congress subsequently enacted the Copyright Act [in] 1790 and major revisions to it in 1831, 1870, 1909, and 1976″ (Doty). “Most copyrights in works published after January 1, 1978 are good for the life of the author plus 50 years,” and which can be renewed (Salone 57-58). “Patents last only 17 years, but cannot be renewed” (Borenstein 22). With technology advancing so quickly, it is not necessary to maintain the protection of the software for the length of the copyright, but also, it is sometimes necessary to renew them (Del Guercio 22-24).Xthe tenth sequel of Final Fantasy in a video game series, for instance. With copyrighted material, programmers are able to write software similar to others’, so long as the programming code is their own, and not borrowed from the others (Del Guercio 22-24). This keeps the industry competitive, and thus results in better software. With patents, on the other hand, no one is allowed to create software that performs similar functions (Del Guercio 22-24). For example, AutoCAD and TrueSpace 2 are two 3D modeling programs. TrueSpace 2 would be a violation of patent laws because it performs a very similar task to AutoCADs, which came first. Luckily for us, CAD programs are not new, they have been around for more than ten years, and no one thought to patent them.

Current patent law causes stagnation of software development since law’s ability is to prevent other similar programs in the marketplace. The ability to patent new and non-obvious software would therefore cause serious problems. The latest new technology such as optical-tracing 3D engines, anti-virus software, and new Internet exploring fads can be patented. This would mean that only one company can use this program and other companies that wanted to use this software would have to pay a large sum of money for the rights. Also, patent hearings are conducted over a period of three years, and it is not necessary to announce a patent hearing to the public (Del Guercio 22-24). For example, company ‘a’ might create a software package and then apply for a patent. Company ‘b’ may create even better software, which does a similar task as the software created by company ..a’ during that period, and might become quite successful. However, the patent is given to company ‘a’ first, who promptly sues company ‘b’ for stealing this innovation. In brief, patent regulations would stagnate the computer industry because company ‘b’ cannot retaliate by making better software. There is an example of this unfair jurisdiction of patent law from Lotus software. When the patenting of software became acceptable in the early 90’s, Lotus closed up