Case note: Data Access v Powerflex

William van Caenegem, Bond University

Article comments

Van Caenegem, William (1998). Case note: Data Access v Powerflex. High Court Review, Vol. 4.

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Abstract

The issue in this case is relatively straightforward: does a single word in the DataFlex language amount to 'a set of instructions' in the sense of that expression in the definition of 'computer program' in s 10 of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)? In answering this question, we enter a well-worn and complex debate about protecting the rights of authors and subsequent owners of computer programs by classifying the latter as "literary works" in Part III of the Copyright Act 1968.