my country's software companies still lag far behind similar foreign companies in safeguarding their own legitimate rights and interests, and there are two outstanding issues: First, the legal system for protecting software intellectual property rights Awareness is relatively weak; second, the ownership of intellectual property rights is unclear. There are even some companies that have not incorporated the protection of software intellectual property rights into their corporate management systems.
In the computer software development process, in addition to the final result of program code, it also includes data structures, algorithms, user interfaces, organizational structures, etc. Because the part between the code and the software function basically belongs to the ideas in the software development process, rather than the expression of the software, it does not fall within the scope of protection.
The principle of judging computer software infringement: the principle of "substantial similarity plus contact". Under the premise that the two are substantially similar, if there is evidence proving that the defendant has come into contact or may have come into contact with the software, the infringement can generally be determined. The steps are as follows:
(1) Directly compare the contents of floppy disks or directories and file names between the allegedly infringing software and the rights holder's software;
(2) Compare the installation processes of the two software and pay attention to whether the screen displays during the installation process are the same;(3) Compare the installed directory and each file, including comparing file names, file lengths, file creation or modification time, file attributes and other surface phenomena;
(4) Compare the screen display, functions, function keys, usage methods, etc. during the use of the software after installation;
(5) Compare the differences between the two software Program code for comparison.
Among them, the most important one is the program code comparison stage. The judgment of the identity of the target program is only the basis for the judgment of software infringement. When the target programs are the same, it is necessary to further judge whether the source programs of the two software corresponding to the target program are the same. If the source programs of two software are substantially similar, it can be determined that the two software are similar and the infringement is established.
