Software is the product of intellectual creativity, but protection of the intellectual property residing in software is the subject of some controversy. This book captures a wide range of perspectives on the topic from industry, academe, and government, drawing on information presented at a workshop and forum.

Intellectual Property in Electronics and Software provides practical guidance and addresses key IP law issues in major jurisdictions worldwide which impact on software and electronics companies. This new edition covers the latest case law on open source software and standard essential patents and features new chapters on the possible impact of the

How has the legal system used its traditional body of copyright and patent law to protect rights in computer software? The last 15 years have changed the entire landscape with regard to the creation and protection of software as intellectual property. Written by a computer expert with extensive participation in some of the most important software trials of the period, this book invites you to think critically about significant software issues and learn about the legal pitfalls surrounding software development in the industry today. The book is organized around various legal issues raised by both plaintiffs and defendants in copyright litigation, and the problems of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in dealing with the rapid proliferation of applications for software-related patents. The author explains important terms and concepts in software litigation such as infringement, substantial similarity, reverse engineering, the merger defense, and look and feel. A succinct, readable survey for computer professionals, nonlegal academics, and lawyers who need a fast summary of the critical issues and cases in software and intellectual property matters.

A new perspective on United States software development, seen through the patent battles that shaped our technological landscape This first comprehensive history of software patenting explores how patent law made software development the powerful industry that it is today. Historian Gerardo Con Díaz reveals how patent law has transformed the ways computing firms make, own, and profit from software. He shows that securing patent protection for computer programs has been a central concern among computer developers since the 1950s and traces how patents and copyrights became inseparable from software development in the Internet age. Software patents, he argues, facilitated the emergence of software as a product and a technology, enabled firms to challenge each other’s place in the computing industry, and expanded the range of creations for which American intellectual property law provides protection. Powerful market forces, aggressive litigation strategies, and new cultures of computing usage and development transformed software into one of the most controversial technologies ever to encounter the American patent system.

"Clear, correct, and deep, this is a welcome addition to discussions of law and computing for anyone -- even lawyers!"-- Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society If you work in information technology, intellectual property is central to your job -- but dealing with the complexities of the legal system can be mind-boggling. This book is for anyone who wants to understand how the legal system deals with intellectual property rights for code and other content. You'll get a clear look at intellectual property issues from a developer's point of view, including practical advice about situations you're likely to encounter. Written by an intellectual property attorney who is also a programmer, Intellectual Property and Open Source helps you understand patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and licenses, with special focus on the issues surrounding open source development and the GPL. This book answers questions such as: How do open source and intellectual property work together? What are the most important intellectual property-related issues when starting a business or open source project? How should you handle copyright, licensing and other issues when accepting a patch from another developer? How can you pursue your own ideas while working for someone else? What parts of a patent should be reviewed to see if it applies to your work? When is your idea a trade secret? How can you reverse engineer a product without getting into trouble? What should you think about when choosing an open source license for your project? Most legal sources are too scattered, too arcane, and too hard to read. Intellectual Property and Open Source is a friendly, easy-to-follow overview of the law that programmers, system administrators, graphic designers, and many others will find essential.

This volume assembles papers commissioned by the National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) to inform judgments about the significant institutional and policy changes in the patent system made over the past two decades. The chapters fall into three areas. The first four chapters consider the determinants and effects of changes in patent "quality." Quality refers to whether patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) meet the statutory standards of patentability, including novelty, nonobviousness, and utility. The fifth and sixth chapters consider the growth in patent litigation, which may itself be a function of changes in the quality of contested patents. The final three chapters explore controversies associated with the extension of patents into new domains of technology, including biomedicine, software, and business methods.