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The simple version is that code is copyrightable as an expression. And the underlaying algorithm is patentable. The legal term you're looking for here is the "
by ADeerAppeared 2y ago
The simple version is that code is copyrightable as an expression. And the underlaying algorithm is patentable.
The legal term you're looking for here is the "Abstraction-Filtration-Comparison" test; What remains if you subtract all the non-copyrightable elements from a given piece of code.
- adrian_b 2y agoAlgorithms have become patentable only very recently in the history of patents, without a rationale being ever provided for this change, and in some countries they have never become patentable. Even in the countries other than USA where algorithms have become patentable, that happened only due to USA blackmailing those countries into changing their laws "to protect (American) IP". It is true however that there exist some quite old patents which in fact have patented algorithms, but those were disguised as patents for some machines executing those algorithms, in order to satisfy the existing laws.
- mort96 2y agoDoesn't really matter, the point is that they're patentable. They clearly shouldn't be IMO, but they are.