Both are important when it comes to protecting the intellectual property of software but each serves a different purpose. Because of the polarizing nature of software copyright and patent law many have become involved in court battles.

Software Patent Or Copyright Choose What Suits The Best Vakilsearch

A copyright refers to the expression of an idea not the idea itself.

Software patent or copyright. Another simple answer to why software needs patent and copyright protection is the seemingly obvious fact that software is big business. For this the government has established several acts namely Copyright Act 1957 Patents Act 1970 Trademark Act 1999 Designs Act 2001 among others. To make the choice you have to think about what youre protecting.

Copyright law protects unique expressions while patent law protects inventions which in the case of software are algorithms. Copyright means a form of protection conferred to the creator of original work which excludes others from performing selling or using the work. Copyright cannot protect a novel means of accomplishing a function merely the syntax of one such means.

Many techies argue that software patents actually impede innovation and that 99 of software is neither novel nor non-obvious to other developers who are equally skilled in the same. While The Indian Patent Act allows a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application to be patentable it also provides a list of subject matter that cannot be patented. Patents and copyrights each offering a different form of protection.

However there are specific cons as well. Although software has its origin in writing it also possesses functionality a property that clearly distinguishes it from ordinary writings. SOFTWARE PROTECTION--INTEGRATING PATENT COPYRIGHT AND TRADE SECRET LAW by Gregory J.

Article 52 of the European Patent Convention excludes software from patentability to the extent that a patent application relates to a computer program as such. A distinction shall however be made between software patents which are excluded according to Article 52 EPC and so-called computer-implemented inventions which are accepted at the European Patent Office. I It must be a new invention ii It must constitute a non obvious improvement on a previously patented invention.

Copyright patent and trade secret regime. Source Code and Object Code Computer software are instructions that form source code and object code. A software patent is defined by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure FFII as being a patent on any performance of a computer realized by means of a computer program.

To protect the uniqueness of the intellectual property the authorities grant several intellectual property rights or patent or copyright to the owners of the works. Some decide they want both. So a patent granted in India is non-existent everywhere else and the idea more precisely an invention be it hardware or an algorithm can be reimplemented there without compensation to the holder of the patent granted in India.

The Patents Designs Act provides conditions for eligibility of a work for Patent grant. Every software developer or company has to choose between patent and copyright. Lets start by clarifying the difference between a software patent and a software copyright.

Software patents are a topic of controversy both in the United states and around the world. Patent means the proprietory rights endowed to the inventor which excludes others from making utilizing or trading the invention for a set period. Patents cover the underlying methodologies embodied in a given piece of software or the function that the software is intended to serve independent of the particular language or code that the software is written in.

OTOH a patent is territory-specific ie valid only in the country that granted the patent. Maier In intellectual property terms software is a true hybrid. Software patents also improve the bargaining capacity of the company that holds the patent.

TRIPS includes a specific provision in Article 10 that expressly requires member states to protect software whether in source or object code as literary works under the Berne Convention. Software is protected under copyright law and the inventions related to software are protected under patent law. A software patent or copyright is a legal way to protect your software source code idea or invention.

Software shouldnt be patentable in the first place. A software patent differs from a software copyright. A software patent is considered a type of utility patent with no true legal definition.

Copyright prevents the direct copying of some or all of a particular version of a given piece of software but does not prevent other authors from writing their own embodiments of the underlying methodologies. Software takes a lot of skill time and labor to develop them so it is natural that you want to protect all your hard work. TRIPS set forth three different forms of protection for software.

Software Patent If your invention is found to be patentable after a prior art search a patent offers the most comprehensive form of intellectual property protection for software-related innovations protecting the novel features and processes that power the application rather than just the underlying source code. Both protect the product but a copyright only covers the expression of an idea. The patent examiner strictly examines the software patent and it may not meet the patentability criteria absolutely.

Software drives some of the largest business and industries the world market has to offer. Firstly software patents are not easily granted. Before we jump into a discussion of software patent eligibility it is important to at least acknowledge a viewpoint held by many developers.