Are the functional elements of a software program protected by copyright?
In applying the distinction between ideas and expressions, courts have analyzed particular features of software programs over the years in order to determine whether or not they should be protected. While court decisions have varied according to the facts, copyright protection does not extend over the elements of a program’s software code that relate to its basic function. For example, in Lotus v. Borland [49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)], the court held that the menu command hierarchy and macros of a software program was not protectable since it embodied the basic structure and functionality of that type of program as a “method of operation.” Similarly, courts have considered whether certain program outputs such as portions of screen displays or graphical user interfaces (GUI) are protected by copyright. For example, the court in Apple v. Microsoft [35 F.3d 1435 (9th Cir. 1994)] held that Microsoft Windows did not infringe on the Macintosh OS because utilitarian aspects of the user interf
