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Antitrust and Trade Regulation

UIC School of Law

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Journal

1996

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Copying To Compete: The Tension Between Copyright Protection & Antitrust Policy In Recent Non-Literal Computer Program Copyright Infringement Cases, 15 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 171 (1996), Mark L. Gordon Jan 1996

Copying To Compete: The Tension Between Copyright Protection & Antitrust Policy In Recent Non-Literal Computer Program Copyright Infringement Cases, 15 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 171 (1996), Mark L. Gordon

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

A conflict exists between copyright law and antitrust policy. The conflict arises because pursuant to the Copyright Act, a copyright owner basically has a monopoly on the work's circulation throughout the market. Copyright protection benefits the owner and the public. Antitrust laws have the same goals. However, the antitrust laws balance these goals with competition in the market. Furthermore, computer programs complicate matters because the programs create a different problem than with other types of works. The Copyright Act states that "expression" is copyrightable and "ideas" are not. Computer programs, however, combine expression and ideas. Three types of copying are …