文档介绍：知识产权法对计算机软件的保护
提要
计算机软件是当今社会最基本的技术基础之一,而且它的重要性也日显突出,对它的保护也受到人们越来越多的关注。本文将围绕计算机软件这一特殊的知识产权客体,分析目前几种重要的知识产权法,即著作权法、专利法、商标法、商业秘密法等对计算机软件的保护。
著作权法是目前世界各国针对计算机软件采用的最普遍的法律保护模式。著作权法主要针对计算机软件的“作品性”进行保护,并不保护软件的思想以及其“功能性”。专利法是继著作权法之后日益受到重视的一种软件保护方式。专利法赋予具备“三性”条件的同硬件结合的计算机软件专利权。而商标法从商业标记和商业信誉等角度出发,为软件提供一定的保护。商业秘密法则是人们最早用来保护计算机软件的法律手段,至今仍作为上述法律的重要补充来实现对计算机软件的保护。
上述法律分别从不同的角度力图为软件提供有效的法律保护,但是其本身对于软件保护来讲都存在着缺陷,即使相互协调也不能弥补现有保护领域中存在的一些空白地带,因此无法向计算机软件提供全方位的更有效的保护。
笔者认为,由于上述法律并非专门针对计算机软件的保护而制定,人们在利用它们对计算机软件进行保护时,就无法根据软件自身的特点提供具有针对性的保护,因此应当为软件“量身定做”其专门的立法。
Synopsis
As the building block of Information Age, software technology has received considerable public attention and the legal protection in this area has e increasingly important. With its focus on the intellectual property puter software per se, this article discusses several related concepts and laws, namely, Copyright Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Trade Secret Law and what protections these laws can possibly render in the protection of software.
Copyright Law is the most popular instrument employed in puter software. Copyright Law addresses the originality of software but not its functionality or ideas inherent in the creation of the software. Another important instrument in software protection, Patent Law, is now widely adopted and protects certain software as well as hardware. Trademark Law offers protection to software technology in terms of trade mark and business credit. And Trade Secret Law, as the earliest instrument for software protection, is still considered an indispensable supplementary protective measure.
However there are loopholes in any of these laws above, though each of them can provide protections to software technology by certain degree. Besides, some gray zones exist among these laws, which make the prehensive protection of software technology impossible.
Given the fact that these laws are not designed for software protection and do not deal with the unique characteristics of software, th