IPR

ESE Presentation and case study

Topic - Protection related to
computer software
Members (Group 12):
Aditya Potnis MIS: 111810071
Kaushik Kunale MIS: 111813024
Nikhil Pradhan MIS: 111810073
Jay Shah MIS: 111810080
 Software Copyright Laws in India
• The programmer(s) invest time and effort in developing a software. As the main purpose of
software is to make process easy, therefore it is important to value the creation and protect
such software in the name of the owner of the work.
• Copyright protects the expression of the author and therefore the copyright in software will
protect the creativity in the code functions that software performs in the computer. Where an
application for software is filed with the copyright office, the applicant is also required to
provide the copy of the source code and object code, which is the protected expression of
the applicant.
• Copyright law of India is prepared with the intention to promote creativity and generate
more original works for overall development of society and the nation. However, at the
same time, where a work is created by substantially copying the expression of others, then
such works are infringement of others work and therefore non-copyrightable subject-matter.
Even though patent offers better protection in term of protecting the idea and economic
exploitation of the work, however, the standards to match the criteria is very high and
examined very strictly.
 Software Patent Laws
• Software or computer programs are per se not protectable as Patentable subject matter.
However, there can be certain exceptional situations wherein the computer programs or
software may qualify as patentable. In order to claim patent for a software work, one
must show the following important determining factors: the invention must consist of
patentable subject matter; the invention must be capable of industrial application; it must
be new (novel);it must involve an inventive step (be non-obvious); and the disclosure of
the invention in the patent application must meet certain formal and substantive standards
• It can be said that the interpretation of section 3(k) of the Patents Act 1970, is not to
consider all software for patent protection, however, the genuine cases where the
software stands tall on all criteria for patentability, then such software must be granted
patent. The strict check on software patent application, is necessary as the patent
protection protects the idea of the patent and therefore, it may lead to restricting the
creativity with the patented idea. Therefore, if software can be protected under the
patents regime if it has a "technical effect".
(1)Case study -  Dassault System Solidworks Corporation & Anr. vs.
Spartan Engineering Industries Pvt. Ltd. Anr., High Court of Delhi,
CS(COMM) 34/2021
• The Delhi High Court addressed the problem of software copyright infringement in this case.
Plaintiff No. 1 is a French firm that created the programme 'Solidworks.' This programme aids in
the modelling and development of three-dimensional models. Plaintiff No.2 is a sister firm created
by Plaintiff No.1 to manage all of Plaintiff No.1's affairs in India relating to 'Solidworks.’
• Dassault Systems" asserts that the programme was created by its workers as work for hire, and so
the copyright belongs to the Plaintiffs. The Plaintiffs contend that the software programme and its
accompanying instruction manuals are literary works protected by the Copyright Act of 1957 (Act)
and are thus entitled to copyright protection. The programme was initially published in the United
States of America (US) and is protected in India under Section 40 of the Copyright Act since both
India and the US are signatories to the Berne Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and
World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement.
• The Plaintiffs claim that in May 2018, they obtained information about the Defendants' (Spartan
Engineering Industries) commercial usage of pirated and unlicensed copies of the 'Solidworks'
software programme without paying the requisite licencing cost. The Plaintiffs further claimed that
such unlawful usage of the software had escalated since August of 2020, and that all efforts to
achieve a settlement were unsuccessful since the Defendants denied infringement.
(2)Case study -  Dassault System Solidworks Corporation & Anr. vs.
Spartan Engineering Industries Pvt. Ltd. Anr., High Court of Delhi,
CS(COMM) 34/2021

• Following this, the Plaintiffs approached the Court seeking an injunction, as use of
any pirated or unauthorised copy of the Plaintiffs’ software program would amount
to copyright infringement under Section 51 of the Copyright Act. The Plaintiffs also
relied on Section 63B of the Act, which makes it a criminal offence to knowingly
use a pirated computer program. Further, the Plaintiffs asserted that, there has also
been a contractual infringement and intellectual property infringement, due to the
violation of the End User License Agreement by the Defendants.
• "Software infringement is a serious issue that deserves to be addressed in the bud,"
the court said while giving the decision. The Plaintiffs were granted an ad interim
ex-parte injunction prohibiting the Defendants from using, reproducing, or
distributing any pirated, unlicensed, or unauthorised software programmes owned
by the Plaintiffs, as well as formatting their computer systems and/or erasing any
data related to assisting others in infringing the Plaintiffs' copyright.