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An Initial Examination Of Computer Programs As Creative Works, Trina C. Kershaw, Ralph D. Clifford, Firas Khatib, Adnan El-Nasan
An Initial Examination Of Computer Programs As Creative Works, Trina C. Kershaw, Ralph D. Clifford, Firas Khatib, Adnan El-Nasan
Faculty Publications
Products from many domains (art, music, engineering design, literature, etc.) are considered to be creative works, but there is a misconception that computer programs are limited by set expressions and thus have no room for creativity. To determine whether computer programs are creative works, we collected programs from 23 advanced graduate students that were written to solve simple and complex bioinformatics problems. These programs were assessed for their variability of expression using a new measurement that we designed. They were also evaluated on several elements of their creativity using a version of Cropley and Kaufman’s (2012) Creative Solution Diagnosis Scale …
Technology Drives The Law: A Foreword To Trends And Issues In Techology & The Law, Ralph D. Clifford
Technology Drives The Law: A Foreword To Trends And Issues In Techology & The Law, Ralph D. Clifford
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Technology has always been a motivating force of change in the law. The creation of new machines and development of novel methods of achieving goals force the law to adapt with new and responsive rules. This is particularly true whenever a new technology transforms society. Whether it is increasing industrialization or computerization, pre-existing legal concepts rarely survive the transition unaltered - new prescriptions are announced while old ones disappear.
Intellectual Property Rights In An Attorney’S Work Product, Ralph D. Clifford
Intellectual Property Rights In An Attorney’S Work Product, Ralph D. Clifford
Faculty Publications
This paper addresses the main intellectual property consequences of practicing law and whether attorneys can prevent others from using their work-product. The article does not assume that the reader is an expert in intellectual property law; instead, it is designed to answer the types of questions practitioners have about their rights.
Intellectual Property In The Era Of The Creative Computer Program, Ralph D. Clifford
Intellectual Property In The Era Of The Creative Computer Program, Ralph D. Clifford
Faculty Publications
Computer scientists, using artificial intelligence techniques such as neural networks, are enabling computers to independently create works that appear to qualify for federal intellectual property protection. In at least one case, the creator of this kind of program has registered its output, a series of musical compositions, under his name as author with United States Copyright Office. Whether the output of the computer satisfies the statutory and constitutional requisites for protection is questionable, however. The author of this Article argues that the output of an autonomously creative computer program cannot be protected under the current copyright and patent laws. Further, …