Re: You have rights.. Software Patents areIllegal

Dear Phil

> >The obligation to protect computer programs as literary works
> >means e.g. that only those limitations that are applicable to
> >literary works may be applied to computer programs.
>
> Interesting! What recourse is available against a country that is in
> violation of the TRIPS agreement? The EUCD is surely in violation of
TRIPS.

The WTO can take action, as a legal authority and demand that a country
comply (I believe economic sanctions may be imposed- this doesn't happen
often since countries usually comply after being told to.)

. The key to whether a directive meets compatibility with the TRIPS treaty
and the Berne Convention is really the "prejudice" criteria. If the
directive does not unfairly prejudice the interests of the author, it can be
compliant. However there is an argument that the Berne Convention requires
fair use to be applied and sometimes things like DRM sit very precariously
on the edge of law. The WIPO treaty introduced anti-circumvention methods
for computer programs , but was applied on top of the Berne Convention. It
is unclear legally whether these measures are compatible with fair use.

Sincerely,

Christian