Copyrights, which are relatively easy to obtain, are a third form of legal protection for software. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, but not the underlying concept for functionality. Also, the expression of the idea isn't protected from independent creation. CONTU, mentioned above, recommended that copyright protection be extended to all forms of computer programs, which was acted upon in the 1980 amendments to the Copyright Act. Because copyright does not protect ideas, processes or procedures, there are concerns about the applicability of copyright to software. One of the main concerns is the impossibility of establishing an exact line between the copyrightable "expression" in a program and the noncopyrightable process being implemented. Another difficulty is the application of copyright to functional works, demonstrated by two sample "look and feel" lawsuits described elsewhere.
As it currently stands, copyright litigation has been shaped in three separate instances or stages. The first stage was to decide simply if computer programs are protectable at all. The 1980 software amendment to the 1976 Copyright Act settled this by confirming that copyright protection applied to computer programs. The next stage of litigation decided which aspects of a computer program are protectable and which are not. The U.S. Congress document Computer Software and Intellectual Property has stated clearly "Court cases have decided that program source code, object code, audiovisual displays (screens) and microcode are protected by copyright." The final stage of litigation is the on-going problem of deciding how similar one program can be to another.
See also Patents, Trade Secret Protection
