A computer program does not infringe the copyright of another one just because it performs the same function as it, but it could do if it copies the means by which the other program works, an advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.
Advocate General Yves Bot said that computer programs that have the same possible functions can co-exist without copyright being infringed – but creators of the means by which the programs carry out those functions can obtain copyright protection for those methods.
In doing so he agreed with a provisional ruling by the UK High Court, which had originally referred the case to the ECJ.
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