Intellectual Property Protection for Computer Programs
Funding source: Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ)
Period: 1/1/08 - 12/31/12
Funding: 1700000 SEK
Description:
Copyright is the basic form of protection for computer programs (software). Copyright has however been perceived as insufficient to protect the technical idea underlying computer programs, and in later years, patent protection has increasingly come into focus and been discussed. The basic precept in patent law is that programs for computers “as such” are excluded from patentability. Earlier, this has in principle made it impossible to obtain a patent for inventions utilising computer programs. The area has however been liberalised and these days, so called computer-implemented inventions are common. The project focuses on copyright and patent protection of computer programs. The purpose of the project is to investigate how intellectual property law has handled the very rapid technical development and to clarify, in relation to the copyright protection of computer programs, the patent protection of computer programs. The strong and opposing interests of copyright and patent protection of computer programs create a need to illuminate the principle issues concerning the effects of patent protection and a reasonable balance from a development perspective. A suitable balance and scope of patent protection for computer-implemented inventions is a central issue for the future function and acceptance of the patent system.
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