2. 2
Patents vs copyrights
Patents Protection of processes and ideas
What’s the difference?
Copyrights Protection of implementations and code
Licenses Rights-granting agreements between owners and users
3. 2
Patents vs copyrights
Patents Protection of processes and ideas
Copyrights Protection of implementations and code
Licenses Rights-granting agreements between owners and users
4. 3
Example: your MP3 player
Protection of processes and ideas
Patents MP3 compression/decompression algorithms owned by Thompson and
others
Protection of implementations and code
Copyrights Software rights for specific applications owned by VideoLAN (VLC), Apple
(iTunes), Microsoft (Windows Media Player), etc.
Rights-granting agreements between owners and users
Licenses VideoLAN gets license for the MP3 codec patent from Thompson and
licenses its copyrighted VLC software to YOU!
5. 4
History of sofware patents
1790 USPTO created, first 1972 US Supreme Court rules 2005 India rejects principle of
patent issued on Gottschalk v. Benson software patentability
1962 First software patent 1996 USPTO publishes FCREG
issued for simplex algorithm establishing patentability
Software patent law is national
Software patent law is in a fluid state
Software patent law has been affected by the rise of the Internet
6. 5
Should software be patentable?
Pros:
Software is useful and requires effort to develop, just like any other invention
Programmers need to eat too
Cons:
It severely hampers software development
Mathematical facts cannot be patentable
Broad and stupid patents can be granted as software is more flexible
Countries disagree on the patentability of software
7. 6
Patenting for dummies
Step 1
Write a document describing invention
Step 2
Send it to patent offices of the countries in which you want a patent
E.g. https://sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/efs-unregistered
Step 3
Wait for it to get approved, and pay the necessary fees - approximately
$10,000
10. 9
Copyrights and licenses
All software is subject to copyright
Copyrights prohibit the duplication and distribution of any substantial portion of
the code without the consent of the copyright owner
Licenses grant particular rights regarding the software and the code to the end
user
The ubiquitous EULA (End User License Agreement) is an example of such
licensing
Licenses differ in their restrictiveness - open source vs proprietary software
Copyright is easy, licenses are complex
READ YOUR LICENSES!
15. 11
The different licenses
GPL LGPL MIT License
More than 60% of free Designed for software Very permissive license.
software uses GPL. libraries rather than software.
Gives users the right to use,
Created to ensure that Proprietary software can use copy, modify, merge, publish,
source code is provided LGPL libraries. Software distribute, sublicense, and/or
together with binaries. using LGPL code must be sell the software
LGPL or GPL.
GPL code can only be used Users must include copy of
in other GPL software. Used in Mozilla & OpenOffice license with their code
RESTRICTIVE PERMISSIVE
16. 12
Key takeaway
1 Patents are on ideas
Copyright is on code and implementation
2 Patents are controversial
Copyright is widely accepted
17. 12
Key takeaway
1 Patents are on ideas
Copyright is on code and implementation
2 Patents are controversial
Copyright is widely accepted
Remember: even though all software is copyrighted, the number of
restrictions imposed varies greatly from license to license
