Exceptions for Computer Programmes

In one line

If you lawfully have a programme you may run it, back it up, make it talk to your own software, study how it works and keep a personal copy, and none of that is infringement.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: clauses (aa), (ab), (ac) and (ad) of section 52(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957 take out of infringement the making of copies or adaptations of a computer programme by its lawful possessor in order to use it for the purpose supplied or to make back-up copies, acts necessary to obtain information essential for operating interoperability, the observation, study or testing of the functioning of the programme to determine the ideas and principles underlying it, and the making of copies or adaptations from a personally and legally obtained copy for non-commercial personal use.

Why the law has this at all

Because software is a literary work that has to be copied to be used. Loading a programme into memory is reproduction. Without an exception every use of every programme would infringe.

Because a programme must work with other programmes. A file format, a protocol or an interface has to be understood before anything can be written that talks to it, and understanding usually means copying.

And because ideas are not protected. Section 13 protects the expression of a programme. A person who wants to learn the ideas and principles behind it must be able to look.

Note that clause (a) does not help. Fair dealing under section 52(1)(a) is expressly "with any work, not being a computer programme". These four clauses are the whole of it.

The four clauses

Clause (aa), use and back-up. "The making of copies or adaptation of a computer programme by the lawful possessor of a copy of such computer programme, from such copy (i) in order to utilise the computer programme for the purpose for which it was supplied; or (ii) to make back-up copies purely as a temporary protection against loss, destruction or damage in order only to utilise the computer programme for the purpose for which it was supplied."

Clause (ab), interoperability. "The doing of any act necessary to obtain information essential for operating interoperability of an independently created computer programme with other programmes by a lawful possessor of a computer programme, provided that such information is not otherwise readily available."

Clause (ac), observation and study. "The observation, study or test of functioning of the computer programme in order to determine the ideas and principles which underlie any elements of the programme while performing such acts necessary for the functions for which the computer programme was supplied."

Clause (ad), personal copies. "The making of copies or adaptation of the computer programme from a personally legally obtained copy for non-commercial personal use."