After the copyright for press, there felt a need for copyright of other intellectual property. What then followed was software. There felt an immediate need for copyright of software.
What is a software?
The software helps in accomplishing various tasks with the computer which cannot be done easily without the help of the computer. It eases the work of the person doing it. It helps in doing things easily and conveniently minimizing the effort and energy used.
Since it makes work easy, it is needed to be copyrighted so that other players in the market don’t benefit from it. Unauthorized use of copyright is illegal. It can harm not only the publisher but the entire community. It also leads to piracy which leads to whopping losses to the software developers. They don’t get fair returns for their work. Their intellectual rights must be protected and it is essential for everyone to respect everyone’s intellectual work. Respect for intellectual property is vital for the working of the market. All intellectual works are protected by copyright law. This means that owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce the data and no one else can do so without the permission of the owner.
The permission for fair use of copying of software involves a 5 step process:
- Determine if the permission is needed
The first and foremost step is to determine if the permission is needed. There are cases when no permission is needed. There are works which can be used universally without any prior permission from anyone. It all depends on two questions:
- Whether the software is protected by law?
- Whether the use of the software will violate the law?
It is not always easy to answer these questions in a definite yes or no but it should be based on calculated risks in operations without permission. In case the permission is needed, the permission should be in the preferred mode which is the written mode.
- Identify the owner
Identifying the owner is very necessary in case you want to use the copyright. It can be as easy as it can get or as hard as you can think. Sometimes, a detailed research is required since the copyright might have passed through various hands. There are different methods to find the owner in different industries. Therefore, you need the identify the way to identify the owner and then find the owner. This becomes very necessary since you need to get the permission from the rightful owner of the software. If you don’t identify the owner, you can’t use the software legally.
- Identify the rights needed
The next step is to identify the rights you need. Each copyright holder holds several rights with respect to the software. It includes right to reproduce, distribute or modify the software. Asking for the rights is an important act. You will have to pay for more than what you need if you ask for the rights that are not needed. But you shouldn’t ask for lesser permissions either. You don’t want to return to ask for further permissions either. So you need to be judicious while asking for permissions. You need to identify the details in the way we need the software.
- Contact the owner and negotiate whether payment is required
The next big question is whether you need to pay for the copy of whatever you have asked for. The owner might not ask for payment in case you are using it for social purposes or you are using it in small amounts. You should, however, be ready to pay for it, if asked for. It might be linked to the size of audience you are reaching. It can be less or more as per the audience.
- Get your permission agreement in writing
The final step is to get your permission in writing. It is very necessary as claims made by saying may prove to be fatal for anyone. You and the owner might have made the agreement and you might not remember the terms which can later lead to copyright disputes. You should not rely on oral promises which are a problem as well because they are hard to prove.
