From Contract Law to Copyright
Doghouse – Copyright
The ideas about and methods for protecting software rights have evolved as computers have moved from expensive and relatively rare to far more affordable and ubiquitous.
Last month I touched briefly on an issue with trademarks, and this month I would like to continue the theme of intellectual property by talking about copyright.
As I normally do, I will go back in time to when computer software could not be copyrighted. In 1969, when I started programming, you would protect your programs (if you wanted to) by using contract law or "trade secrets" (or both).
Much of this was because computers were astronomically expensive by today's standards. Even the smallest of computers might cost more than $50,000 (and that was when $50,000 was a lot of money). Software, if you purchased it, was also expensive, and I remember purchasing a compiler from a company and paying $100,000 for a single copy of that compiler that would be used on a single computer to compile one program at a time. My company spent that money because the compiler would get a 10 percent performance improvement from the programs we compiled for our $2.5 million mainframe (and remember that I am talking about 1975 USD).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Pine64 Halts Production of Linux Devices
With continued DRAM and eMMC shortages, Pine64 has decided to discontinue production of Linux devices.
-
The Bullet-Proof KDE Software Initiative Is Coming
KDE, Techpaladin, and Kubuntu Focus have announced a new initiative that will provide at least three years of support for KDE Plasma 6.6 LTS and related software.
-
Linux Mint Shares a Possible Kernel Cleanup Solution
For those on Linux Mint who like to keep multiple kernels around but don't want them to take up too much space, you might be getting a new automated tool.
-
CachyOS Gets an Update
CachyOS August 2026 release is now available with the latest version of KDE, some new features, and plenty of improvements.
-
The Linux Kernel Dev Staging Area Now Rejects AI-Generated Patches
Unless a kernel patch is a valid security fix, it will be rejected if it was created using AI.
-
Linux Surpasses Double-Digit Market Share
According to two sources, the Linux operating system has hit a major milestone in market share that naysayers thought would never happen.
-
AI Helped Develop a Linux Exploit
A use-after-free race exploit was discovered and exploited on CentOS Stream 9.
-
Yet Another Linux Kernel Vulnerability Discovered
Affecting millions of systems, a kernel flaw discovered by Qualys could allow users to gain root privileges.
-
Ubuntu 26.10 to Include Ubuntu Certified Hardware Check
If you've ever wondered if your laptop or PC is officially certified to run Ubuntu, that curiosity will soon be met.
-
Substantial Update to IPFire Now Available
The lastest version of IPFire features a fundamental change to how the system handles DNS.