Copyright Registration and Protection for Computer Programs

The United States Copyright Office defines a computer program as a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.  The question becomes what exactly does a copyright registration for a computer program protect?  Courts have held that copyright protection extends not only to the literal elements of a computer program, such as source code and object code, but also to the program’s non-literal elements.  These non-literal elements are the products generated by the codes interaction with the computer hardware and operating programs.  Put another way, copyright protection of a computer program extends to the structure, sequence, organization, user-interface, screen displays, and menu structures.  Therefore, a copyright registration will protect not only the code but also the output of that code.

Copyright Term in The Public Domain in the United States

A Copyright only lasts so long before it becomes part of the public domain.   Here is a resource link to information concerning the Copyright Term for published and unpublished works.   A copyright is dependent on when the work was first published, whether or not the work was registered as a copyright and whether the publication was in the United States or abroad.  Note that song recordings have a separate chart, as do architectural works.

Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States