Copyright Issues for Computer Software Program in the United States after Oracle. v. Google: Are the Laws Making the Intellectual Property Protections Easier or Harder?

In light of the decisions made by both the District Court of Northern District of California and U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit on Oracle v. Google case, the intellectual property protections for software program and its eligibility were again brought to the attention not only to software developers but also to law professions and general publics. Despite Oracle’s intention in bringing patent and trade secret issues into the present case, it turned out focusing on copyright issue. This paper intends to make a thorough review on the present case and discuss the legal development of the copyright law including copyright subject matter, copyrightability and its legality in software program in the United States. In addition, through the dispute of the case, it will discuss the remain issues of copyright protection for software program; as well as, whether copyright, among the intellectual property protection rights, is an eligible aspect in protecting software programs. Finally, it will try to provide a suggestion of a comparatively appropriate method of intellectual property protection for computer programs to the software developers and legal professions.