Introduction to Intellectual Property and Information Technology
As humans, we possess the ability to think abstractly and create material ranging from artistic works to technical designs. We are influenced by previous creators and that inspiration from existing work is fundamental to the development of artistic and technical material. Inspired as we may be by previous creators, the lines between original content and regurgitated material can get quite blurred! Intellectual property is described by the World Intellectual Property Organization as property that “refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce”, it covers two core areas: industrial property and copyright.
Intellectual property rights, as with many areas of law, has had to evolve with the advent of information technology. Advances in computing power and the ability to connect to millions of individuals through the internet has created many hurdles for intellectual property. In particular, the innovation of computers led to the development of user-oriented software through the use of programming languages. Coding a software using a programming language requires a highly skilled individual to write a series of commands that form the source code of that program. Source code (and the object code once compiled) fall under copyright protection because the code is essentially a piece of literary work and software code in both formats has a well-established history of being protected by copyright provisions. Problems arise as software is ultimately a functional tool rather than a work of art to be enjoyed subjectively by an individual, leaving programmers the headache of being able to write a program that performs a function which may require the same code a competitor uses. Though copyright law protects the code of a software and the ‘look and feel’ of an interface, the function of the software is not protected. This inevitably leads to similar programs being made available to the public, who are left to choose their preferred program but leaves companies hefty legal fees as they contest their ownership to ideas in court.
Ultimately intellectual property rights in software are well protected by the law and there are clear rules as to what is and isn’t permitted but as technology continues to evolve we will see increased arbitration in the courts as creators fight for their ownership rights (not the worst scenario in the world if you’re an IP lawyer!).
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/12/designers-copyright-law-essentials/



















