What “copying” of computer programs is permitted under copyright law?
Copyright law protects any work, including computer software, that is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression” and which contains a “modicum of originality.” While making a copy of an orginal work generally constitutes copyright infringement, the very nature of computer software requires the making of a copy of original elements every time a program runs. In order to solve this problem, Congress included specific exemptions within copyright law outlining the permitted uses of a computer program. Section 117 of the Copyright Act provides that: [I]t is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided: that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it used in no other manner, or that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are de
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