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NISCAIR ONLINE PERIODICALS REPOSITORY (NOPR) >
NISCAIR PUBLICATIONS >
Research Journals >
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights (JIPR) >
JIPR Vol.16 [2011] >
JIPR Vol.16(4) [July 2011] >
| Title: | Dealing ‘Fairly’ with Software in India |
| Authors: | Jethi, Mishita |
| Keywords: | Fair use
Software
Decompilation
Copyright |
| Issue Date: | Jul-2011 |
| Publisher: | NISCAIR-CSIR, India |
| Abstract: | Section 52(1)(ab) of the Copyright Act, 1957
deals with the fair use exception in case of computer software. This paper
attempts to analyse the scope of this exception when applied to software as a
work of art in India.
The right to decompile, as found in different countries and enactments, is
compared with the Indian position. It is argued that this right must be given
very strictly. The Indian position on the right to decompile is very nebulous.
The statutory guidelines are insufficient and poorly drafted, leaving the
limits of this right uncertain. Allowing decompilation without placing distinct
restrictions on how to use such extracted information, completely outweighs the
reasoning of fair use doctrine. Inadequate guidelines as to the extent to which
a program may be reverse engineered and who is allowed to reverse engineer,
leaves loopholes in the protection of software copyright, allowing
circumvention of copyright and the defence of fair use while commercially
exploiting competing interoperable programs. The paper concludes by stating
that with the growing rate of peer-to-peer sharing in India, this exception,
unless narrowed down in its scope, may go beyond mere fair use and may be used
to circumvent liability for infringement of copyrighted software. |
| Page(s): | 313-320 |
| CC License: |  CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India |
| ISSN: | 0975-1076 (Online); 0971-7544 (Print) |
| Source: | JIPR Vol.16(4) [July 2011]
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