Global Impact of Software Patents Essay -- Copyright World Copyrighted

Global Impact of Software Patents Introduction: As companies and individuals expand beyond the domestic domain and venture into a global market, the issues of patents and copyrights become increasingly complex. The basis for a patent is to protect an implementation of some original idea in order to give the holder of the patent rights over their achievement. A copyright serves a similar purpose in providing the copyright holder with power of their own work. Many countries offer means to protect patented and copyrighted materials from being duplicated illegally. However, intellectual property rights such as computer software create a particularly difficult situation because of how easy software is to distribute and reproduce. Though a patent or copyright may exist and be protected in one country, other countries may not choose to acknowledge or extend its protective power. Therefore, to achieve universal protection, one must secure patents and copyrights in every country that issues them. Unfortunately, even this may not be enough protection. Many countries do not provide any protection from patent or copyright violations. Because of this, there is tremendous effort to have patents and copyrights enforced globally. Though internationally protected patents and copyrights provide the holder with the rights they deserve, they also have considerable consequences. Undeveloped countries are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to both obtaining patents and securing rights to use them. Efforts to have software patents and copyrights enforced internationally have damaging affects on developing countries because of the high prices associated with obtaining them and the power that developed countries have to enf... ...d World (Stanford: SUP, 1992) 50. 3 The Internationalisation of Software and Computer Services (Paris: OECD, 1989) 84. 4 Silverman, Lydecker, and Lee, 53. 5 The Internationalisation of Software and Computer Services (Paris: OECD, 1989) 88. 6 David B. Yoffie, Competing in the Age of Digital Convergence (Boston: HBS, 1997) 307. 7 Yoffie, 305. Bibliography: David B. Yoffie, Competing in the Age of Digital Convergence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997. Evan I. Schwartz, "Patents Go Global," 2003, Technology Review, 6 May 2003, <http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/schwartz0503.asp?p=0> Milton Silverman, Mia Lydecker, and Philip R. Lee, Bad Medicine: The Prescription Drug Industry in the Third World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992. The Internationalisation of Software and Computer Services. Paris: OECD, 1989.