Programming languages not copyrightable, rules highest EU court | Linux Today

Programming languages not copyrightable, rules highest EU court

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
May 3, 2012

The European Court of Justice ruled this morning that the functionality of a computer program and the programming language it is written in cannot be protected by copyright. Europe’s highest court made the decision in relation to a case brought by SAS Institute against World Programming Limited (WPL), effectively leaving the door open for software companies to “reverse engineer” programs without fear of infringing copyright.

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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