You cannot protect with copyright, for example, the syntax | >>__READ__file-name-1__ ______ __ ________ __ ____________________ ____________________________> | | |_NEXT_| |_RECORD_| |_INTO__identifier-1_| | | | | >__ _____________________________________ __ __________________________________________ _______> | | |_ ____ __END__imperative-statement-1_| |_NOT__ ____ __END__imperative-statement-2_| | | |_AT_| |_AT_| | | | | >__ __________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ___>< | | |_END-READ_| |
You can protect with copyright your compiler source code that converts a statement in that syntax into machine instructions. You can probably protect with copyright the above "expression" of the syntax. That is to say, I am potentially violating IBM's copyright by pasting it here. There are other ways of expressing the same syntax, for example READ file_1 [NEXT] [RECORD] [INTO variable_1] [[AT] END] etc. Charles -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Scott Ford Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 10:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Programming languages can't have copyright protection, EU court rules Charles, Functionality of the language ? Not being dense, but you functionally what the programming language does in the app or functionally what it does, I.e.; read files ,write files, etc.. Scott Ford Senior Systems Engineer www.identityforge.com On May 3, 2012, at 12:15 AM, Charles Mills <[email protected]> wrote: > Right. > > If you wrote a COBOL compiler, you could protect your compiler code > under copyright, you could protect your manual, you could protect the > layout of your interactive debugger screens. > > But you can't protect the functionality of the language. I can write > my own COBOL compiler, manual, and interactive debugger. > > Charles > > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Mike Schwab > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 8:19 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Programming languages can't have copyright protection, EU > court rules > > This is not the code. This is the language specification. Someone > could write their own version of your product. Then users could buy > their application instead of yours and run their programs. > > On Wed, May 2, 2012 at 9:33 PM, Scott Ford <[email protected]> wrote: >> All, >> >> So how do you protect code, whatever language you have written in , >> in > business ? >> Without copyright, doesn't it imply , people can take you source and > change it and resell it ...if the gave your source , right ? >> >> >> Scott Ford >> Senior Systems Engineer >> www.identityforge.com >> >> >> >> On May 2, 2012, at 1:49 PM, Charles Mills <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>>> Can one replicate the 'look and feel' without copyright issues in >>>> the EU >>> now? >>> >>> I might add that "look and feel" might be subject to copyright > protection. >>> Copyright, again, protects *expression.* >>> >>> If I wrote a z/OS system monitor that cleverly displayed the status >>> of started tasks as bouncing balls of various sizes and colors, that >>> expression might be subject to copyright, but the function of >>> displaying the status of started tasks graphically would not. >>> >>> Charles > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send > email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
