Elementary Comments On the Legal Protection of Software File Format
仲奕;倪佳
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1. Brief Introduction to the Case
Court of First Instance: Intermediate People''''s Court of One City
Court of Second Instance: High People''''s Court of One City
Plaintiff of the First Instance (the Appellee of the Second Instance): Company A (the Copyright Owner of JDP Software)
Defendant of the First Instance (the Appellor of the Second Instance): Company B
1.1 Brief Introduction to the First Instance:
Plaintiff alleged that:The Plaintiff, Company A, independently developed JD System which is composed by three principal parts, i.e. JDP Software, JD Numerical Control System and Machine itself. The System runs relying on two computers. One is processing and programming computer and the other is numerical control one. Two computers run two different programs and they need to exchange data through format files. In detail the process is: JDP Software generates encrypted ENG format data file through the running of processing program computer and then the data file is received and transformed into processing order by the controlling software which is run on the numerical control computer. Company A enjoys software copyright of the said JDP Software which is not for public offering and is only equipped on the numerical control equipment for usage independently produced by Company A.
Company B, for the sake of making its own NCS Software of the NC numerical control system read the ENG format data file outputted by JDP Software of Company A, illegally decoded the measures of encryption of ENG format, which constitutes the software copyright infringement to the Plaintiff, Company A.The conducts of Company B enable other numerical equipments to illegally receive ENG data file, which leads to the drop of sales volume of numerical equipments of Company A and relevant economic losses. Company A requests the Court to decree that Company B shall immediately stop its infringement acts, apologize to Company A publicly and compensate relevant economic losses.