Ethical Issues in Software Patent Law: A Comparison Between the US and UK :: Argumentative Persuasive Papers

Ethical Issues in Softw atomic number 18 Patent Law As Seen in Comparison Between the US and UK1. IntroductionThough it is often overlooked today in favor of its counterpart digital music protection, software program system content protection is an extremely serious issue, and many contend that it has the potential to stunt the growth of technology if it is mishandled. The debate concerns software piracy (often simply apply a program you didnt actually pay for), and the proper legal protection that should apply to such software programs. Due to space constraints, I delegate to confine our discussion here to an overview of the software plain and copyright issues in the United States and the UK two of the worlds most advanced countries with widespread software development and use, and therefore great potential for misuse. And as no treatment of this issue can be complete without a look at its honourable ramifications, I will finally propose a solution to the software protection problem, and justify it with ethical as well as pragmatic motivations.2. Systems directlyThere are two primary legal means of protecting ones software today copyrights and patents (trade secrets are really a tell apart category, simply involving keeping your code secret, and provide no real legal protection). The difference between copyrights and patents is that copyrights (traditionally applicable to printed matter and documents) apply automatically but run off limited protection, while patents (applied to crotchety business processes, etc.) give extensive legal protection but must be granted. Copyrights have long been the only real method of protection of software, which was viewed as more like a printed document than a business process the thinking of many was (and still is) that, Patents cover unique processes and functions, but since virtually all software is derivative, patent protection seems inappropriate for software programs. Copyright protection may be more suitable since it does delineate between ideas and their expression. However, the extent and scope of that protection is unclear1What this means is that copyrights can be got around (at least theoretically, rewriting a program in a different way to do exactly the same thing would not violate a copyright on the original program) and while patents are much more restrictive, it is unclear when exactly a patent on a piece of software is justified, resulting in an opportunity for abuse by patent applicants. To get a more substantive picture of the state of software protection today, we will take a closer look at relevant law in the United States, and compare it to the protection currently offered in the UK.