Comments on: Computer games designer’s failure to disclose his previous ideas meant employing company owned them – Burrows v Smith, High Court http://www.mablaw.com/2010/02/computer-games-designer%e2%80%99s-failure-to-disclose-his-previous-ideas-meant-employing-company-owned-them-%e2%80%93-burrows-v-smith-high-court/ MAB Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:34:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Paul Gershlick http://www.mablaw.com/2010/02/computer-games-designer%e2%80%99s-failure-to-disclose-his-previous-ideas-meant-employing-company-owned-them-%e2%80%93-burrows-v-smith-high-court/comment-page-1/#comment-108 Paul Gershlick Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:34:26 +0000 http://www.mablaw.com/?p=1951#comment-108 Roy Thanks for your comment and contribution. You're right - it's much harder to get patents for software in the UK than in the US. It is possible, although rare - if the software has a technical effect rather than merely a better way of doing business. The intellectual property right used to protect software generally is copyright. There is widespread protection for software using copyright. Copyright vests in the source code. It's also important from a practical perspective to protect the source code to stop others having an opportunity to copy. If you would like to discuss these areas further, it's something I do all the time to help my clients to protect their software. Email me at paul.gershlick@mablaw.co.uk. Best regards Paul Roy

Thanks for your comment and contribution.

You’re right – it’s much harder to get patents for software in the UK than in the US. It is possible, although rare – if the software has a technical effect rather than merely a better way of doing business.

The intellectual property right used to protect software generally is copyright. There is widespread protection for software using copyright. Copyright vests in the source code. It’s also important from a practical perspective to protect the source code to stop others having an opportunity to copy.

If you would like to discuss these areas further, it’s something I do all the time to help my clients to protect their software. Email me at paul.gershlick@mablaw.co.uk.

Best regards
PaulI think this comment should be removed

]]> By: Roy http://www.mablaw.com/2010/02/computer-games-designer%e2%80%99s-failure-to-disclose-his-previous-ideas-meant-employing-company-owned-them-%e2%80%93-burrows-v-smith-high-court/comment-page-1/#comment-106 Roy Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:30:30 +0000 http://www.mablaw.com/?p=1951#comment-106 Dear Paul, In my attempts to understand the mechanisms for protecting ideas relating to software products I have been told by two separate patent lawyers that is not possible to protect a software idea using patents in the UK and Europe unlike in the US. Does the Burrows v Smith, High Court outlined above indicate that a software idea can covered by copyright protection? Thanks and Best Regards Roy Dear Paul,
In my attempts to understand the mechanisms for protecting ideas relating to software products I have been told by two separate patent lawyers that is not possible to protect a software idea using patents in the UK and Europe unlike in the US.
Does the Burrows v Smith, High Court outlined above indicate that a software idea can covered by copyright protection?
Thanks and Best Regards
RoyI think this comment should be removed

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