The Scope of Computer Program Protection after SAS: Are We Closer to Answers?

摘要

In a much awaited decision, the Court of Justice held that the functionalities of a computer program, including data files and programming languages, generally cannot be protected by copyright. Interfaces can be protected only the extent that they represent the author's creative choices. The court's decision on arti.5(3) of the software directive is more cryptic but probably can be interpreted to mean that the owner of the copyright in a computer program may not prevent a licensee from determining