Computer Law Commons^™

Note: The Copyrightability Of Nonliteral Elements Of Computer Programs, Julian Velasco

Journal Articles

The goal of copyright law is "[t]o promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts." It is premised on the assumption that "encourag[ing] . . . individual effort by personal gain is the best way to advance public welfare through the talents of authors . . ." In order to "promote progress," however, copyright law must respond to changes in technology.

One issue that has been problematic for the courts is whether and to what extent the nonliteral elements of computer programs are copyrightable. Nonliteral elements are aspects of the computer program other than the written code itself. Although it …

In Memory Of Herbert Tenzer, Norman Lamm

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In Memory Of Herbert Tenzer, Frank J. Macchiarola

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In Memory Of Herbert Tenzer, Lyonel E. Zunz

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Will The Copyright Office Be Obsolete In The Twenty-First Century?, Pamela Samuelson

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Copyright Office In The Age Of Information, Eric Schwartz

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Must Carry And The Courts: Bleak House, The Sequel, Nicholas W. Allard

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Four Reasons And A Paradox: The Manifest Superiority Of Copyright Over Sui Generis Protection Of Computer Software, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

The "Manifesto Concerning the Legal Protection of Computer Programs" offers an extensive and challenging critique of current intellectual property protection of software. The authors argue strongly that the law should focus on the value of the know-how embodied in programs and the importance of protecting it, rather than on the particular means which might be used to appropriate it. The authors seek to compel reconceptualization of the place of computer programs, and of software authors' creativity, within the domain of intellectual property. However, their brief for change manifests several flaws. Paradoxically, it comes at once both too soon and too …

Scope Of The Uniform Commercial Code: Advances In Technology And Survey Of Computer Contracting Cases, Harold R. Weinberg, Ameila H. Boss, William J. Woodward Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Since the 1940s, the technology revolution has enabled people to communicate electronically. Sitting at a computer terminal connected to a modem and a telephone wire, it is possible to send a message anywhere in the country (or throughout the world)—to another computer, to a telecopy or telefax machine, even to a telephone. Paper is being replaced by electronic signals as a mode of communication. This revolution calls into question some of the fundamental rules upon which our contracts and the U.C.C. were built. On a broader scale, electronic communication raises issues that include the rights and responsibilities of providers and …

Recent Developments In Copyright Protection For Computer Software In The United States And Japan, Yutaka Nakamura

Washington International Law Journal

Many current legal issues pertaining to copyright of computer software involve defining the scope of protection of non-literal expression, such as "user interface" and "look and feel," in contrast to literal expression, such as "source code," to which ownership may be more clearly attributed. Superficially, it appears that the case law pertaining to non-literal expression is developing differently in Japan and the United States. This comment demonstrates that, however, while Japanese and U.S. courts have been applying formally different analytical criteria, the decisions of both have been similar in seeking equity-oriented solutions.

A Square Peg In A Round Hole: The Proper Substantial Similarity Test For Nonliteral Aspects Of Computer Programs, David A. Loew

Washington Law Review

Since the Third Circuit's decision in Whelan Associates, Inc. v. Jaslow Dental Laboratory, Inc. expanded copyright protection to include the nonliteral aspects of computer programs, courts have struggled to find a way to properly determine substantial similarity between programs, a necessary element of copyright infringement. In the Third Circuit, courts dissect competing programs and compare them in a one-step procedure. The Ninth Circuit uses a two-part process to objectively, and then subjectively, compare program elements. In Computer Associates International, Inc. v. Altai, Inc. the Second Circuit recommended a three-part substantial similarity test to filter out unprotectable elements and compare the …

The Legality Of Disassembly Of Computer Programs, 12 Computer L.J. 1 (1993), David L. Hayes

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Works For Hire Revisited: Aymes V. Bonelli, 12 Computer L.J. 17 (1993), Sue Ganske Mota

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Software Patent Protection: A Problem-Solution Theory For Harmonizing The Precedent, 12 Computer L.J. 25 (1993), Lance L. Vietzke

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted: Computer Crime In The 1990s, 12 Computer L.J. 61 (1993), Glenn D. Baker

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The New Medium Of Expression: Introducing Virtual Reality And Anticipating Copyright Issues, 12 Computer L.J. 175 (1993), Greg S. Weber

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

E-Law: Legal Issues Affecting Computer Information Systems And System Operator Liability, 12 Computer L.J. 101 (1993), David Loundy

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Best Mode Requirement In United States Patent Practice In 1993, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 353 (1993), Kenneth R. Adamo

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article discusses the best mode requirement set forth in section 112 of the United States Patent Act. This requirement is unique to United States patent law and must be satisfied by every utility patent application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This article then discusses how decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have helped clarify and refine the best mode requirement and its application to patents in the field of computer technology (i.e., In re Hayes Microcomputer Products). Then it discusses how these holdings have made this already difficult area …

Recent Developments In Computer Law: An Update, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 395 (1993), Bradley J. Hulbert

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article provides an overview of case law that had developed in 1993 relating to computers, summarizing cases in the following fourteen areas of the law: 1. Administrative - This section briefs a case holding that the Bush Administration's e-mail records fell within the scope of the Federal Records Act. 2. Anti-trust - This section includes: an overview of a case defining "sham" lawsuits and a summary of a case holding that a large software firm's supplier requirements may define a relevant market for an anti-trust analysis. 3. Civil Procedure - This section gives a brief summary of a case …

Security Requirements And Evidentiary Issues In The Interchange Of Electronic Documents: Steps Toward Developing A Security Policy, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 425 (1993), Peter N. Weiss

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

As the business world turns from using paper to electronic documents, the security aspects of electronic documents must be examined. No law has dealt with the security of electronic documents. Therefore, guidelines for assessing the relative security of an electronic document compared to its paper counterpart is essential to the continuing success of the electronic document in the business world. Aspects of the legal admissibility of electronic documents follow that of traditional paper documents. A finding that a document, paper or electronic, is genuine and reliable allows it to pass the scrutiny of legal admissibility. In order to prove a …

The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act - A New Perspective: Let The Punishment Fit The Damage, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 445 (1993), Joseph P. Daly

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This comment discusses computer virus crimes under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. More specifically, it addresses the inadequate sentencing scheme of this act. The comment first discusses computer viruses in general and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The comment proposes a new sentencing scheme by which individual sentences would be allocated according to the damages caused by a computer virus propagator. It also illustrates the utility of such a scheme in both current criminal and civil law. It then discusses the ways in which computer virus damages can be quantified. The conclusion of this comment is …

The Impact Of Nafta On The United States Computer Industry: Why Trade Reforms Will Spark Increased Exports To Mexico, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 467 (1993), Michelle A. Kaiser

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article focuses on computer industry trade barriers in Mexico that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will eliminate. The two trade barriers that have caused problems for the U.S. in exporting computer products and services into Mexico are high protective tariffs and software piracy. NAFTA is needed by American vendors and manufacturers of computer products and services in order to keep from remaining as outsiders to Mexico’s market. This comment first discusses the background on trade relations between the United States and Mexico. It then demonstrates why NAFTA is essential to increased computer exports into Mexico, which includes …

An Analysis That Is Not "Ad Hoc": The Bifurcated Uniform Analysis That The Federal Courts Should Follow To Determine Computer Program Copyright Nonliteral Infringement, 12 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 485 (1993), Michael J. Bendel

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article examines the issues surrounding software copyright protection and the problem of inconsistent court analysis across the country. After reviewing the problems particular to software copyright, the author recommends a new course of court analysis that would bring consistent analysis and decisions to this growing area of law. Courts have begun to examine the scope of protection the Copyright Act grants to computer software beyond the literal text of the software's programming language. Two classifications for computer programs have developed: literal, which focuses on the actual text of the program, and non-literal, which is concerned with organization, structure and …

The International Legal Information Network (Ilin) - A Practical Application Of Perritt's Tort Liability, The First Amendment, And Equal Access To Electronic Networks, Kathleen Price

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Antitrust Law And Open Access To The Nren, John M. Stevens

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Dispute Resolution In Electronic Network Communities, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Law In A Digital World: Computer Networks And Cyberspace, Ethan Katsh

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Case Against Copyright Protection For Programmable Logic Devices, Stephen C. Bishop

Washington Law Review

Several commentators have argued that copyright protection should extend to protect logic equations incorporated in a type of semiconductor chip called a programmable logic device (PLD). They reach this result by analogizing to the storage of computer software in memory chips, an embodiment that is currently protected under the copyright laws. This Comment analyzes logic equations incorporated in a PLD with respect to the copyright statute, utilitarian device doctrine, and the legislative history of the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act. It concludes that copyright protection should not extend to protect the logic equations incorporated in a PLD.

Assaying Computer Associates V. Altai: How Will The Golden Nugget Test Pan Out, Walter Effross

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Copyright Protection: Has Look & Feel Crashed?, John M. Walker Jr., Jessica D. Litman, Susan G. Braden, Anthony L. Clapes, Henry B. Gutman, Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss, Frank J. Macchiarola, Marci A. Hamilton

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.