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Legal Protection for Software

Software programs are protected as literary works under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The Copyright Act grants the owner of the copyright a number of exclusive rights. These rights include the right to:

reproduce the works in a material form (copying);
publish the work;
perform the work in public;
communicate the work to the public;
make an adaptation of the work (modifying the work, including converting it to a different computer language);
enter into a commercial rental arrangement in respect of the program; and
do in relation to the work that is an adaptation of the first work, any of the acts specified above in relation to the first work in sub-paragraphs above.

This means that the owner of the software program can prevent any other person from doing any of the things described above without obtaining the owner's consent.

There are some limited exceptions to these exclusive rights. These exceptions include:

limited fair dealing rights;
temporary reproductions made in the course of a communication;
temporary reproductions as part of a technical process of using reproduction;
normal use or study of a computer program;
taking a back up copy;
reproducing the computer program to make interoperable products;
reproducing the program to correct errors; and
reproducing the program for security testing.

All of these exceptions are relatively limited in nature and are subject to specific provisions in the Copyright Act. A number of these exceptions cannot be excluded by a contract. This is a particularly complex area of law and you should seek specific legal advice if you believe any of these issues apply in your circumstances.

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Which contract is best for me?

Clicking on the link to one of the specific online Contract Templates listed on this page will give you a description of when that particular contract should be used, and help you decide if it is the right document for your needs.

You should choose the online Contract Template that most closely describes the way you provide your software licences and support to the customer.