Some software terms explained – 3
October 29, 2008
Computer Programs & Software
A glossary of legal terms used in technology – part 3
compatible — A type of software that will work similar to another software package (such as one word processor accepting the word processing files of a different word processor)
DMCA: Digital Millenium Copyright Act — A United States statute prohibiting certain types of activities on copyrighted work, such as breaking encryption
freely redistributable — Software which the copyright holder waives the right to exclude others from making copies.
freeware — Software which the copyright holder allows persons to make copies, usually without allowing access to the source code.
GPL: GNU General Public License — A special type of license designed to protect the rights of end users.
incompatible — Software which does not normally work in a similar fashion to other competing applications
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Some software terms explained – 2
October 29, 2008
Computer Programs & Software
A glossary of legal terms used in technology – part 2
abandonware — Software no longer being maintained, released or supported by the manufacturer
author — In the case of a software program not created for an employer, the creator(s) of the program. Where the person creates a program as a work for hire, their employer is considered the author.
BSD-style — A type of software license, which, while claiming copyright, essentially waives almost all of the copyright restrictions
closed source — Software for which the source code is not normally available to the end users of the program.
open source — A type of software which grants the end user the privilege of copying, distribution and/or modification.
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Some software terms explained – 1
October 29, 2008
Computer Programs & Software
A glossary of legal terms used in technology – part 1
EULA: end user license agreement — A provision to require an end user of a computer program to agree to certain restrictions on use of a program that the user normally would have absent agreement to the terms of the EULA.
FOSS: Free/open source software — Software for which the source code is normally available to the end users of the program.
GPL: GNU General Public License — A special type of license designed to protect the rights of end users
DRM: digital rights management — A system which prohibits in whole or part, copying or use of a work protected by the system
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Software Patents, 1998
October 22, 2008
Computer Programs & Software, Patents
In 1998, the US Federal Circuit issued its State Street Bank & Trust v. Signature Financial Group decision, which further clarified the patentability of computer software in the United States. In this case, Signature Financial had obtained a patent on a “Hub and Spoke” method of running mutual funds.
In this method, several mutual funds (or “spokes”) pool their investment assets into a single investment portfolio (the “hub”). Software then determines the value of each fund based upon a percentage ownership of each of the assets in the hub portfolio.
This information is tracked on a daily basis, and is used to track fund share pricing and tax accountability. State Street Bank asked the court to declare this invention to be not patentable as a mere mathematical algorithm or as a business method.
The Federal Circuit rejected the arguments of State Street Bank, and instead upheld the patent by explicitly stating that business methods can form patentable subject matter.
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Software Patents, early 1990′s
October 22, 2008
Computer Programs & Software, Patents
In the early 1990s, the US Federal Circuit (the highest court for patent matters other than the Supreme Court) tried to clarify when a software related invention was patentable.
The court stated that the invention as a whole should be examined. Is the invention in actuality only a mathematical algorithm, such as a computer program designed to convert binary-coded decimal numbers into binary numbers?
If so, then the invention is not patentable. However, if the invention utilizes the computer to manipulate numbers that represent concrete, real world values (such as a program that interprets electrocardiograph signals to predict arrhythmia or a program that analyzes seismic measurements), then the invention is a process relating to those real world concepts and is patentable.
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