Posts: 1370 from 2003/2/15
From: Central Europe
@ DiskDoctor
Quote:
U.S. protects their software using patents (so called "patenting the algorithms"), whilst the EU chose the way of protecting software via copyright instruments
Some would argue that the US has stricter copyright laws than those commonly found in the European Union. Overall, there is barely a difference in terms of how software is protected by copyrights laws in the US and in EU. In the US, there is just an additional legal protection, i.e. software patents. However, this particular protection is considered as extremely anti-competitive by a number of people.
Quote:
So if you patent "a feature" (here: Expose), this ruling applies worldwide IMAO. But I'm getting more and more confused on it, the more I study it (I study PG IP now).
If somebody applies for a *US* patent on software, then this patent will only apply to the US region (which includes foreign products sold in this market, such as MorphOS). Usually, if you would like your invention to be protected elsewhere, you have to pay extra.
Not all patents apply world-wide by default.
