Copyright protection for computer programs

Abstract

Globalization, nowadays, has reshaped many or most of the legal concepts humans thought of as indispensable. It has turned the globe into a small village, cutting down boundaries, and opening up channels which were inconceivable just a few years back. Free movements of knowledge, thought, inventions, technologies, creations, and ideas have become available to humanity. This research investigates, therefore, the scope of copyright protection of computer programs and their impact. There is no doubt that the modern technology use stretches the law which is sometimes slow to react. One legal problem has been the manner in which law has been attempting to adapt existing legal paradigms to deal with the problems posed by technological transfer and development. The aim of this research is to shed light on the current problems facing copyright protection for computer programs and the influence on international trade and economics in an attempt to stop computer programs copyright infringements by modernizing and developing copyright laws. Protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights, legal constraints on owners and traders in these rights as well as wheeling and dealing of these rights have spawned specialized legislation, judicial and administrative departments, private commercial registries and protective agencies. Law firms have expanded to provide more attorneys handling Intellectual Property expertise. Copyright legislation is part of the body of law known as "Intellectual Property", which protects the interest of the creators by giving them property rights over their works, in order to further stimulate human intellectual creativity, make the fruits of such creativity available to the public, and ensure that international trade in goods and services protected by intellectual property rights is allowed to flourish on the basis of a smoothly functioning system within harmonized national laws. Computer programs are a good example of the type of works which are not included in the list contained in the Berne convention, but which are undoubtedly included in the notion of a "production in the Literary, scientific and artistic domain" as described in Article 2 of the convention. Indeed, computer programs are protected under the copyright laws of a number of countries, and under the TRIPS Agreement. On March 17, 1999 the Lebanese Parliament approved the new proposed copyright law. The law W75 was published in the Official Journal N'18 dated April 3, 1999 under the title "Literary and Artistic Property". We should bear in mind that Lebanon is signatory to the Berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic work's , one of the major international copyrights treaties , which sets out ground rules for the protection of copyright at a national level. Furthermore, the new act or the modern copyright law (Act 1976)' of the United States is considered at the moment the best act concerning copyrights in comparison with other acts such as the British law (Copyright, Designs, and patent act of 1988) French code, and the German law. The IP field is extremely diverse and complex, and also very legalistic. Volumes and volumes have been written about each one of the various IP rights, and IP laws vary significantly from one country to another. I will try, therefore, through this research, to show the importance of Intellectual Property which involves the encouragement of creativity and innovation. The protections of computer programs are analyzed on the national and International level, for the purpose of defining the problems and infringements hoping to adapt existing copyrights law to deal with new technological problems. For this purpose, this research is divided into six chapters and a conclusion. The first three chapters seek to clarify Intellectual Property basics and what IP rights means. In chapters four and five, I shall refer to some national copyrights law such as Lebanese, United States, British, French, and to the main international conventions on copyrights, pointing out their rules and regulations as well as the conditions for a state to join them. Chapter six will be about copyrights protection of computer programs and infringements, and the problem posed by technological development.