COPYRIGHT PERTAINING TO SOFTWARE :
The definition of ”Literary wok” under section 2 (o) of the Copy right Act,1957 includes computer programmes, tables and compilations including computer “literary data bases. Computer programme as stated above was included within the definition of “literary work” in 1984 and the new definition of “computer programme” under Section 2 (ffc) introduced in 1994 means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes or in any other form, including a machine-readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result.
Computer programmes (also known as “software”) originated with the invention of the computer itself. However, it was only with the advent of Personal Computers (PCs) in the 1980s that software became w’dely available and the need for protecting software under Copyright law became an issue. In the initial stages, computer programmes were developed by the manufacturers of computers themselves. With the emergence of wide use of PCs, production of software became delinked from manufacturers of computers. Development and manufacturing of software has now become an independent activity and the number of companies engaged in this activity has also increased. It is however the output and variety which has grown manifold which has given rise to problems of enforcement of Copyright in them. While vigorous competition among producers of software has, on the one hand brought about improvement in the quality of computer programmes and brought down the prices, the increased opportunities have also given rise to what is commonly known as “software piracy” – the activity of duplicating and distributing software without authority from the holder of the copyright.
The philosophical justification for including computer programmes within the definition of ‘ ‘literary work” has been that computer programmes are also products of intellectual skill like any other literary work. Developing a computer programme is an activity which is comparable to the writing of a novel or other literary work excepting that the “language” used as well as its uses are of a very different kind. Though a software can be written by individual programmer, most of the major software’s are the outcome of group efforts, where medium to large sized teams spend months or even years to write a programme.
Like the unauthorised copying of literary works, unauthorised copying of computer programmes also attracts the same legal consequences under the Copyright law. However, since the facility of copying a computer software and its duplication is within the easy reach of a potential pirate and since copies of software are indistinguishable from the original, publishers/owners of software are also confronted with daunting problems for safeguarding their interests under the Copyright law when large scale software piracy takes place. Software piracy has assumed enormous proportions in certain countries and has become a friction point in international trade negotiations. Within domestic jurisdictions also software piracy has thrown up serious challenges to enforcement authorities. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 has tried to address these questions and has incorporated internationally recognised standards and procedures for enforcement of copyright in the field of computer programmes. The relevant provisions have been discussed under remedies against infringement of copyright