Intellectual Property Rights in Software

Citation

(2001), "Intellectual Property Rights in Software", Kybernetes, Vol. 30 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2001.06730bae.001

Intellectual Property Rights in Software

Intellectual Property Rights in Software

British Computer Society (BCS) Task ForceBCS2000ISBN 1-902505-18-2Prices: £15 BCS members, £20 non-members

Keywords: Publication, Cybernetics, Intellectual property, Software

This is one of the latest guides published by the British Computer Society (BCS). It was compiled by the BCS Intellectual Property Rights Task Force to inform its readers of their rights and duties both as creators and users of intellectual property in software. Although directed at software it also gives an insight into what has become a most complex and difficult area in almost every field associated with the new technologies.

The guide concentrates on copyright and covers, comprehensively, the requirements enacted through UK laws as well as the European Union directives. The text is supported by case studies which provide a very useful insight into recent situations. Both impending changes and longer term trends are addressed, as are international agreements such as the Berne Convention. The patenting of programs is also considered and the US views are noted. Contractual terms are considered too, and advice about obtaining professional help is reiterated.

One independent reviewer believes it to be organised and presented in an excellent way and one that can be easily consulted. This is now a subject that demands our attention after many years of neglect by cyberneticians and systemists who in the past have merely hoped they were not only creating new technology but also keeping within current laws.