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SOFTWARE PIRACY Infringement of copyright in software occupies the pride of place among all cases of copyright infringement. This problem is especially rampant in all developing countries, with poor enforcement mechanisms contributing in no small measure to it. More importantly, it has to do with a situation wherein people are unable to afford them, yet they are indispensable tools for their day to day operations in a fast growing technological world. Such clandestine or covert dealings, which are more the norm than the exception in countries like India and China, costs the industry a good billion dollars every year. In fact, if the author were to make a confession, the author is presently writing this research paper on a pirated copy of Microsoft Word! The process by which the piracy is effected is very simple and that explains the allpervasive nature of the same153. More importantly, the lack of specially trained judicial machinery and a capable force to deal with such complex and varied infringements, has not helped in any manner154. In this context, it is necessary to understand as to what constitutes software, as to understand what is being protected. Computer Software: The Essential IngredientsComputer Software is explained to constitute the following three elements155:
‘Computer Program’- which is a set of instructions capable, when put in a computer, of causing a machine having information processing capabilities to indicate, perform or achieve a particular function, task or result;
‘Program Description’-which is a comprehensive procedural presentation, in verbal, schematic or other form, in sufficient detail to determine a set of instructions constituting a corresponding computer program;
‘Supporting Material’-which is any material other than a computer program or a program description, created for aiding the understanding or application of a computer program, i.e. a problem description and user instructions.
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Dhar, P.M., “Intellectual Property in Computer Programs: Weaknesses of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957”, JILI, Vol.28, No.4, 1982, p.487. 154 Ibid. 155 World Intellectual Property Organisation (hereinafter referred to as WIPO), Model Provisions on Protection of Computer Software, (1978). See also, Puri, Kanwal, Copyright in Software, National Law School Journal,Vol.1, 1989,p.32.