Copyrightability of Software: Piracy on the Waters of Protection
Sylvia Ann Matthews · Scholar Commons (University of South Carolina) · 1986
I.1.By 1987 sales of personal computer software are expected to reach $4.8 billion, and sales of microcomputers are projected to reach $15 billion.Getting Tough on Software Theft, Bus.Wa., May 31, 1982, at 28, 29.2. The term "software" may be used to refer to computer programs, data bases, or documentation.Bender, Software Protection: The 1985 Perspective, 7 W. NEw ENG.L.REv. 405, 407 (1985).A "program" is a "set of precise instructions that tells the computer how to solve a problem."Data Cash Sys., Inc. v. JS&A Group, Inc., 480 F. Supp.1063, 1065 (N.D. Ill.1979)(citations omitted).For the statutory definition of "computer program" and its history, see infra note 57 and accompanying text.A data base is a grouping of information on which the machine performs its operations.Documentation refers to the comments that are included in a program to explain its operation.Bender, supra, at 407.This Note will use "software" to mean computer programs.