問16
頻出度★★★
著作権法の保護の対象となるものはどれか。
平成24年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問16
ストラテジ系法務 › 知的財産権
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 16
Incorrectア
A communication protocol is an agreement about the procedures and formats by which devices and software exchange data, in other words a convention. Article 10, paragraph 3 of Japan's Copyright Act states explicitly that protection of a program work does not extend to programming languages, protocols (conventions), or algorithms, and a protocol falls squarely within this exclusion. A protocol is common ground that works only when everyone follows the same agreement, and if one party were allowed to monopolize it, no one could build compatible products. That is why copyright does not protect it. Note, however, that a specification document that explains the protocol can itself be a literary work.
Incorrectイ
The color or shape of a personal computer's body is the external design of a mass-produced industrial product, and it is protected by design law (Japan's Design Act), not by the Copyright Act. A design right comes into being only through application to and registration with the patent office (the Japan Patent Office), and it protects the shape, pattern, or color of an article, or a combination of these, that produces an aesthetic impression through the sense of sight. Whereas copyright arises automatically at the moment of creation, a design right requires registration; that is another difference between the two. Note as well that a logo or brand name on a product falls under trademark law, and the technical ideas inside it fall under patent law: intellectual property is divided among different laws according to the subject matter.
- ウ
正解 The correct answer is ウ, a personal computer's user manual. What the Copyright Act protects is a creative expression of thoughts or feelings, that is, a work. A user manual is something the writer puts together as text, deciding how to explain how the device is used and what to watch out for, and what structure, wording, and diagrams will get that across to the reader. It therefore counts as a literary work, one of the categories the Copyright Act lists. Facts and ideas themselves are not protected (for example, the fact that on this model the power button is on the right-hand side), but the specific wording that explains them is. So copying the text of another company's manual without permission and using it in your own product's manual is copyright infringement. Note also that copyright, unlike a patent, needs no application or registration: it arises automatically the moment the work is created (the principle of automatic protection, with no formalities required). In the software field, a program (source code and object code) is also protected as a work, but the programming language, protocols (conventions), and algorithms used to write it are excluded from protection. That dividing line is the key point of this question.
Incorrectエ
A programming language (the characters and other symbols used as a means of expressing a program, together with their system, that is, the language specification itself, such as C or Java) is the very first item Article 10, paragraph 3 of Japan's Copyright Act lists as something protection does not reach. If the language itself could be monopolized, no one could write programs in it any more, and the tool of expression would become unusable. What is protected is the program actually written using that language (a program work); the language itself, and the algorithms used within it, are outside the scope of protection.
ここがポイント
- What the Copyright Act protects is a work: a creative expression of thoughts or feelings (literary, musical, artistic, photographic, cinematographic, program works, and so on). User manuals and instruction booklets are protected as literary works, and the right arises automatically at the moment of creation, with no application or registration needed (the principle of automatic protection).
- Remember the set of three exclusions in Article 10, paragraph 3 of Japan's Copyright Act: copyright protection does not extend to programming languages, protocols (conventions such as communication protocols), or algorithms. At the same time, keep straight which law covers which subject matter: the shape and design of an industrial product falls under design law (the Design Act), logos and brand names under trademark law, and technical ideas under patent law.
用語