Copyright Protection of Indirect Copying of Computer Programs: Suggestions for Indian Courts

Abstract

<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> With the growth of the software industry in India, the legal protection to be afforded to computer programs is a specific subject of copyright protection under the Copyright Act, 1957. Since the courts in India have till date never dealt with the question of copyright infringement of computer programs, this paper considers the various tests laid down by the foreign courts when considering such issues and discusses the pros and cons of each such test. This paper also brings to the fore the inapplicability of certain tests for determining copyright infringement of literary works formulated by the Indian courts to the area of computer programs, mainly because of the highly technical nature of such works and suggests methods and considerations which the courts should keep in mind when faced with questions of copyright infringement of computer programs. </smarttagtype></smarttagtype>