I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to understand the ramifications, but this sounds huge.
"The result is that the court finds that ideas and principles which underlie any element of a computer program are not protected by copyright under that directive, only the expression of those ideas and principles." What does the above really mean? Can one replicate the 'look and feel' without copyright issues in the EU now? In the US, there is the concept of 'intellectual property' that seems to protect ideas from theft. Does that now mean open season in the EU? Or am I confusing copyright with patents? Granted, I currently think that the US patent system is broken, but this seems a bit of an over kill. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mark Regan Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 10:35 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Programming languages can't have copyright protection, EU court rules Watch for possible URL truncation as it gets wrapped http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9226783/Programming_languages_can_t_have_copyright_protection_EU_court_rules Thanks, Mark Regan <>< ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message, together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
