Recall that Oracle sued Google for both copyright infringement and patent infringement based, allegedly, on Google’s use of the JAVA technology in the Android phone operating system. At the time that suit was filed, I’m certain the thinking was that those Oracle software patents would be the strongest part of the case. That’s what everyone… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Software Protection
Subscribe to Software Protection RSS FeedCopyright Versus Patent: Let’s Get It On!
Posted in Fair Use, Infringement Defenses, Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionIf you follow my blog at all, you know that I often comment on the emerging use of copyright law over patent law to protect software. In fact, I will tell anyone who’ll listen that I think software copyrights should be the preferred mechanism for protecting your software over patents. But even I could not… Continue Reading
Software Copyrights Keep Gaining Steam: Spry Foxx Sues 6Waves
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionLocal Seattle game developer Spry Foxx has sued 6waves for software copyright infringement based on 6waves’s knock-off of Spry Foxx’s hit game Triple Town. Good for Spry Foxx. Triple Town is shown on the left, and the 6waves knock-off on the right. There are definitely similarities, although to my eye not as many as the… Continue Reading
Oracle Advances Software Copyrights, Drops Patent Claims Against Google
Posted in Interesting Cases, Oracle v. Google, Software ProtectionI frequently blog about the benefits of software copyrights over software patents. I’ve also mentioned how Oracle is leading the charge in terms of promoting its software copyrights more than its software patents. Nowhere is it more apparent that software patents are the new thing, and software patents are out, than in the Oracle v…. Continue Reading
Hana Beshara (Phara) Goes To Jail for Criticizing the Government
Posted in Interesting Cases, Online piracy, Software ProtectionHana Beshara, the self-proclaimed attractive co-founder of NinjaVideo, was recently sentenced to 22 months in jail. Now this really isn’t a big surprise, given the government’s fairly recent push to demonize and vilify people who push the limits of fair use online. As a copyright attorney myself, I can’t really say I’m in favor of… Continue Reading
Software Copyrights Keep Getting Attractive
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionI keep advocating for the use of software copyrights to defend your software products, and it looks like that message is taking hold. I don’t just mean using copyrights to prevent people from making pirate copies of your actual software. That’s the easy case. I also mean in the broader sense of another developer waiting… Continue Reading
Software Copyrights Protect More Than Just Code
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionAs I frequently say, software copyrights are the new thing. Since long ago, software patents were viewed as the only vehicle to protect your software against anything except actually selling unauthorized copies of your software. But most people don’t remember that until the rise of software patents, which is a relatively new thing, copyright law… Continue Reading
Copyright Infringement: Folks Are Going To Jail
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionCopyright infringement has been around for a long, long time. But it is really becoming a very dangerous idea. The traditional remedy for copyright infringement has always been money. If you copy my stuff, you have to pay me for it. The theory is that, unlike tangible property, you don’t really deprive me of my… Continue Reading
Copyright Protection for Software: Keeps Getting Better
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionI continue to believe that copyright protection for software is the better legal theory than patent law. Copyright protection is way easier to get, cheaper to acquire, and exists instantly. It also lasts longer, but who uses 70-year old software anyway? I think my opinion definitely has its supporters. Obviously, the Oracle case against SAP… Continue Reading
Copyright Protection for Software: More Money
Posted in Interesting Cases, Software ProtectionI’ve mentioned before that you should be seriously considering copyright protection for your software either in addition to patent protection, or as an alternative if you don’t already have patent protection. Again, you get copyright protection automatically, without the exorbitant expense and delay associated with patent protection. Also, there is the possibility for greater money… Continue Reading
Copyright Is The New Patent: How to Protect Your Software, Again
Posted in Contingent Fee, Software ProtectionBack in the day (the early ’90s), copyright law was viewed as the best way to protect software from piracy. There was a ton of cases that tried to establish some rules, rooted in copyright law, to protect the “look and feel” of software.* The purpose was to extend copyright protection to more than just… Continue Reading
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