Mihika Chauhan, Masters in Intellectual Property and Trade Laws, School of Law, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore
ABSTRACT
Over the last decade, India has emerged as the country of talented software developers, but it still lacks in providing adequate protection to softwares. This paper analyses the existing Intellectual Property Laws in India and discusses the various aspects of a computer programme or software that are protected under the said laws. At present, softwares are primarily granted protection under the Copyright Laws. However, the protection granted under the Copyright Laws in India is limited as it only protects the literal aspects of the software, that is the written source code or object code of the software. In India, Computer-related inventions are also protected under the Patent Laws, but the law falls short in protecting inventions existing in solely computer programmes or softwares. The existing Patent Law in India expressly excludes ‘computer programme per se’ from patentable subject matter. Thus, the functional aspects of a computer programme or software remain unprotected in India, in spite of meeting the requirements of patentability. This paper also traces decisions taken by judicial bodies while dealing with the scope of protection offered to softwares under Intellectual Property Laws.
Keywords: Software patents, Software work copyrights, Software inventions, Computer related inventions, Patentable subject matter, Section 3(k)
