"Softwars: The Legal Battles for Control of the Global Software Industry" explains why the future of the computer industry depends on the nature and extent of intellectual property protection for the software that controls computer hardware. The softwars it discusses are the confrontations taking place in the courtroom, in the legislative chambers and in professional symposia around the world in which the scope of intellectual property protection for computer software is being debated and, in some cases, determined. In a highly readable and entertaining series of essays, the author explains the influences of clones, hackers, vendors of proprietary systems, vendors of open systems, software patents, copyrights and trade secrets on the evolution of the industry. No other book to date has provided either as lucid a description of the major litigation involving software protection or as cogent an analysis of the economic and strategic consequences of that litigation.

"SoftwarS" is divided into five parts, each consisting of two or more essays. In Part I, the author discusses the nature of computer programs and the history of intellectual property protection for computer programs. Part II deals with the look and feel issue; it explains what constitutes infringement of rights in screen displays and other aspects of user interfaces, and the importance of the issue. Part III concerns the practice known as reverse engineering of software; who does it, why, and what the legal and economic consequences are. In Part IV, the reader is led to the boundaries of the legal debate, where the limits of the law are being tested. Part V is the author's conclusion and prognostications for the future of the computer industry and the law. Anyone interested in the intersection of law and technology, and particularly those involved in the computer industry, will find Softwars valuable and compelling reading.

This book deals comprehensively with the question of the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. Offering a unique blend of scholarship, technical rigor, and readability, it dispels the confusion and controversy that surround the application of copyright law to computer programs. Through an orderly development of facts and analysis it shows why the copyright law is the appropriate regime for software protection and explains the nature of copyright protection for software. Alternating between essay format and case study, the book provides expert counsel to those interested in this interface between technology and law. "Software, Copyright, and Competition: The Look and Feel' of the LaW," is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of legal scholarship in any subject this editor has ever had the pleasure to read. As to its subject matter, it is the best analysis of look and feel' written to date. . . . The book is very readable. Not only does the author explain' the law for the non-lawyer, but he explains the zen' of computer programming to the non-programmer. With wit and insight he puts to rest the many old wives tales the legal community believes about programmers. . . . In the best of all possible worlds, this book would be mandatory reading for any judge or arbitrator faced with a look and feel' case. "The Software Law Bulletin," January 1990

Two forces, innovation and imitation, fuel the intense competition that underlies the dramatic technological progress taking place in the computer industry. As the competitive battleground shifts increasingly to the software sector, a vigorous debate has arisen over whether the principal legal regime for protecting the asset value of computer programs--the copyright law--encourages or inhibits that competition. Industry executives, computer lawyers, law professors and lawmakers alike are participating in the debate, the outcome of which will quite literally shape the future of the computer industry.

This book deals comprehensively with the question of the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. Offering a unique blend of scholarship, technical rigor, and readability, it dispels the confusion and controversy that surround the application of copyright law to computer programs. Through an orderly development of facts and analysis it shows why the copyright law is the appropriate regime for software protection and explains the nature of copyright protection for software. Alternating between essay format and case study, the book provides expert counsel to those interested in this interface between technology and law.