THE ECONOMICS OF IDEAS AND EXPRESSIONS: ANALYSIS OF SCOPE AND UTILITY IN SOFTWARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The extension of the scope of protection in software products and technologies has blurred the traditional dichotomy between idea and expression and re-shaped the borders between patents and copyrights. The article discusses the role of ideas and expressions in development of new products and technologies and their different impact on innovation and technical change. It compares their economic merits and dissimilarities in the general episode of physical goods and in the peculiar case of intangibles through analysing the legal protection of computer programs. IP policies are continuously formed in an adaptive rather in a pro-active mode, attempting to provide new technological developments protection by including them within the scope of traditional regimes. Therefore, a historical outline of the evolution of information technologies drawn beyond the contemporary line of jurisdiction of intellectual property rights assists in identifying the unique and consistent economic characteristics of computer programs and provides us a broader perspective on the essence of computer technologies. On the basis of this study, we evaluate the adequacy of patenting and copyrights to protect software products and to nourish innovation in ICT in the long run