Archives: Software

Important Copyright Protections for Software to be Addressed in Pending Federal Circuit Appeal

By Chad Rutkowski on February 13, 2018 Posted in Software, Technology

In December 2014, Cisco Systems, Inc. sued rival ethernet switch provider Arista Networks, Inc., for more than $300 million because it allegedly infringed Cisco’s copyrights in operating system software that manages Cisco switches. Curiously, Cisco did not claim that Arista infringed the copyright in the software’s source code, which many understand to be the subject … Continue Reading

2017 – The Year in Which Copyright Went Beyond Source Code

By Chad Rutkowski on January 16, 2018 Posted in Copyright, Software

2017 was a big year for raising the profile of copyright in protecting computer programs. Two cases in particular helped bring attention to a myth that was addressed and dispelled some time ago but persists in some circles nonetheless. Many lawyers hold on to the notion that copyright protection for software is weak because such … Continue Reading

Can Software Be Created As a Work-for-Hire?

By Chad Rutkowski on March 1, 2016 Posted in Copyright, Software

In early February a decision out of the Southern District of New York added another layer of dicta supporting the notion that software created by an independent contractor can qualify as a work-for-hire. In Stanacard, LLC v. Rubard, LLC, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15721 (S.D.N.Y. February 3, 2016), the court found in dicta that work … Continue Reading