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| Article |
| The First Case on Protection of Operating Systems and Reverse Engineering of Programs in Japan |
| Dennis Karjala |
| 10 Eur. Intell. Prop. R. 172 (1988) |
| Library Access |
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Abstract: Japan’s increasingly important international position in computer technology has engendered a growing interest in the type and scope of protections for computer software under Japanese intellectual property law. One 1987 case, Microsoft Corporation v. Suuwa System Trading KK,, is worthy of examination both for what it tells us about Japanese judicial approaches to software protection and for the challenges it presents to our own thinking.It involved disassembly of the object code representation of a BASIC interpreter developed by Microsoft and publication, together with explanatory comments, of the source code resulting therefrom. Because the BASIC interpreter can be considered part of the computer’s operating system, the case raises issues concerning the copyrightability and scope of protection in operating systems software as well as the relationship between the source (assembly language) and object code representations of the program. Moreover, because the disassembly involved direct conversion o the plaintiff’s object code into hexadecimal, the question is whether that apparently obvious act of copying in itself infringes. If it does, reverse engineering of such programs for any purpose, including research or study, would be prohibited or substantially impeded. We should ask whether there is a policy basis for restricting reverse engineering of software more than other technological products. Even if disassembly for reverse engineering purposes is permitted, the case raises the very interesting question of whether publications of the source code product of the defendant’s disassembly can be justified. On the facts presented by the case, the defendant performed a valuable service to the users of the program, including users who bought legal copies. On the other hand, publication raises the danger that other users will adapt the defendant’s published version either for sale of for direct input into their computers, to avoid purchase of the original program. Keywords: Corporation v. Suuwa System Trading KK, Japanese Copyright Law, Computer Programs |
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