[Discuss] Request for Comments: Digital DIY: Legal Challenges & Solutions Practised Report

[Cláudio Sampaio]

On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 8:19 AM, Matt Maier <blueback09 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks Wouter,
> Are you really sure that the decorative aspects of OSHW designs are enough
> to extend copyright protection to the whole object?
>
> I'm not at all confident that's possible (or desirable).
>
> Here's an example:
> http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/unprotected.html
> "*a painting on the side of a truck is protectable under copyright law
> even though the truck is a useful article. The painting is clearly
> separable from the utilitarian aspects of the truck. The overall shape of
> the truck, on the other hand, would not be copyrightable since the shape is
> an essential part of the truck's utility...One of the primary purposes for
> prohibiting copyright protection in useful articles is to prevent the
> granting of patent-like protection through the copyright laws*"
>

​Someone please explain to me:

With all these restrictions about copyright being applied to artistic but
not utilitarian aspects of the creation, how is it that it fully applies to
computer software, which is often a fully functional creation?
I have read the article on wikipedia but could not really understand it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_copyright​


-- 
Cláudio "Patola" Sampaio
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