New York Public Library Database Abstract:  "Copyright is an appropriate form of protection for computer programs. In addition, its application is critical for the continued commercial availability of computer programs. Patents and trade secrets are the principal additional forms of preserving the asset value of original software. However, these other forms of protection do not provide adequate coverage. As the body of case law involving software copyright expands, an orderly unfolding is under way, providing a balanced legal environment for the further development of the software industry through copyright protection. In the USSR, intellectual property has been long viewed as being in the public domain and unprotected. As a result, copying of software has been legal and rampant. However, changes in Soviet copyright law are on the horizon. The US/Soviet Agreement on Trade Relations, signed by President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev on June 1, 1990, included extensive provisions on copyrights and other intellectual property."

Subjects:  International copyright - software - technology - trade secrets - software packages - intellectual property