問10
頻出度★★★
PC のオペレーティングシステムを構成するプログラムを知的財産として保護する法律はどれか。
平成29年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問10
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 10
Incorrectア
The Design Act is an industrial property law that protects the design of an article, such as its shape, pattern, and color; a program itself is not covered, so this is wrong.
Incorrectイ
The Act on the Circuit Layout of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits (the law concerning the circuit layout of semiconductor integrated circuits) protects the layout of circuits on a semiconductor chip; a program, which is software, is not covered, so this is wrong.
Incorrectウ
The Utility Model Act is an industrial property law that protects devices (so-called minor inventions) relating to the shape, structure, or combination of an article; a program is not included in its scope of protection, so this is wrong.
- エ
正解 A program (software) is protected under the Copyright Act as a kind of “work.” The Copyright Act protects creative expressions of thoughts and feelings, and a program’s expression, such as its source code, is regarded as a creative work. The programs that make up a PC’s operating system are likewise software, and their expression is protected as intellectual property by the Copyright Act. Therefore the correct answer is エ, the Copyright Act.
ここがポイント
- A program (software) is protected under the Copyright Act as a “program work.” A key feature of copyright is that the right arises at the moment the work is created, without any procedure.
- The Design Act and the Utility Model Act protect the design or devising of an article and do not protect the program itself (although the Patent Act, another industrial property right, can protect a program as an invention of a product). Grasp the difference in what each of them protects.
用語