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Legal protection for computer software
Computers& Security, 7 (1988) 213-223
Abstracts of Recent Articles and Literature
Microsoft has been granted a temporary restraining order that restricts Dickerson from working with any language, macro language or database product. Borland and Dickerson filed a court action claiming that Microsoft's employment contract is not valid in California where Dickerson would be working. Computer-
world, December 7, 1987, pp. 97, 102.
Computer Law Aftershocks for Silicon Valley, Richard Raysman and Peter Brown. The aftershocks of a United States Supreme Court decision are likely to be felt dramatically in the hightech world of Silicon Valley. The court found that the defendant's misappropriation of confidential information owned by his employer constituted fraud. Computer programs and the information surrounding their development are perhaps the single most valuable property resource driving America's current technological advances. The high mobility of professionals in the computer industry has long been a source of concern to employers, because key employees frequently go to work for a competitor or decide to start a new business that becomes a competitor. To date, the employer's only defenses against theft of proprietary information have been internal security procedures and confidentiality agreements with employees. This decision supports a much stronger remedy--criminal prosecution. The New York Times,
November 29, 1987, p.E. 17.
Legal Protection for Computer Software. This summary of in-
ternational proprietary protection for computer software shows some changes from the last one, notably new copyright acts or decrees in Chile, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea. There is also additional information on Ecuador and Turkey and some classifications have been upgraded or downgraded. The listing also now includes a summary of semiconductor chip production. 52 countries are covered; for each, copyright, trade secret/unfair competition, trademark, patent and mask words are evaluated. Computer Law
Newsletter, November-December 1987, pp. I-3.
Dickerson Center o f Tug-ofWar, Stephen Jones. Microsoft Corporation and Borland International are in the courts fighting over a key former Microsoft employee who has joined Borland's ranks. Microsoft is seeking to prevent Rob Dickerson, the former marketing manager of its flagship line of language products, from spilling trade secrets to his new employer. Microsoft has charged that Dickerson has violated an employment agreement that prohibits him from competing with the company's business for one year following his departure.
0167-4048/88/$3.50 © 1988, Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.
Microsoft, Borland Settle Dickerson Case, Rachel Parker. Microsoft, Borland and Rob Dickerson have reached a settlement under which Dickerson will work for Borland, but only on business applications and on language products other than versions of Basic or
C. Info World, December21, I983, 1987, p. 3.
Hold that Lawsuit, Rosemary Hamilton. A legal scuffle between Oracle Corporation and Sybase, Inc. came to an abrupt end with Sybase admitting it had wrongly accused Oracle of illegally using and copying its software. In the lawsuit Sybasse asserted that Oracle had wrongfully used and copied its Dataserver and Data Toolset. Then, negotiations revealed that a copy of the Oracle database management system was apparently at Sybase but there was no evidence that the software was obtained illegally or had been used. The companies agreed to return any of the other's software they might have had although neither claimed to have had the other's software. Computerworld, December 14, I987, p.2. Computer Security Shift is Approved by Senate, Linda Greenhouse. The Senate has passed
213
Abstracts of Recent Articles and Literature
Microsoft has been granted a temporary restraining order that restricts Dickerson from working with any language, macro language or database product. Borland and Dickerson filed a court action claiming that Microsoft's employment contract is not valid in California where Dickerson would be working. Computer-
world, December 7, 1987, pp. 97, 102.
Computer Law Aftershocks for Silicon Valley, Richard Raysman and Peter Brown. The aftershocks of a United States Supreme Court decision are likely to be felt dramatically in the hightech world of Silicon Valley. The court found that the defendant's misappropriation of confidential information owned by his employer constituted fraud. Computer programs and the information surrounding their development are perhaps the single most valuable property resource driving America's current technological advances. The high mobility of professionals in the computer industry has long been a source of concern to employers, because key employees frequently go to work for a competitor or decide to start a new business that becomes a competitor. To date, the employer's only defenses against theft of proprietary information have been internal security procedures and confidentiality agreements with employees. This decision supports a much stronger remedy--criminal prosecution. The New York Times,
November 29, 1987, p.E. 17.
Legal Protection for Computer Software. This summary of in-
ternational proprietary protection for computer software shows some changes from the last one, notably new copyright acts or decrees in Chile, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea. There is also additional information on Ecuador and Turkey and some classifications have been upgraded or downgraded. The listing also now includes a summary of semiconductor chip production. 52 countries are covered; for each, copyright, trade secret/unfair competition, trademark, patent and mask words are evaluated. Computer Law
Newsletter, November-December 1987, pp. I-3.
Dickerson Center o f Tug-ofWar, Stephen Jones. Microsoft Corporation and Borland International are in the courts fighting over a key former Microsoft employee who has joined Borland's ranks. Microsoft is seeking to prevent Rob Dickerson, the former marketing manager of its flagship line of language products, from spilling trade secrets to his new employer. Microsoft has charged that Dickerson has violated an employment agreement that prohibits him from competing with the company's business for one year following his departure.
0167-4048/88/$3.50 © 1988, Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.
Microsoft, Borland Settle Dickerson Case, Rachel Parker. Microsoft, Borland and Rob Dickerson have reached a settlement under which Dickerson will work for Borland, but only on business applications and on language products other than versions of Basic or
C. Info World, December21, I983, 1987, p. 3.
Hold that Lawsuit, Rosemary Hamilton. A legal scuffle between Oracle Corporation and Sybase, Inc. came to an abrupt end with Sybase admitting it had wrongly accused Oracle of illegally using and copying its software. In the lawsuit Sybasse asserted that Oracle had wrongfully used and copied its Dataserver and Data Toolset. Then, negotiations revealed that a copy of the Oracle database management system was apparently at Sybase but there was no evidence that the software was obtained illegally or had been used. The companies agreed to return any of the other's software they might have had although neither claimed to have had the other's software. Computerworld, December 14, I987, p.2. Computer Security Shift is Approved by Senate, Linda Greenhouse. The Senate has passed
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