As computer technology has come to play a significant role in an increasingly global economy, companies in the United States and around the world have shown strong interest in protecting their own developments in computer technology. They have also shown strong interest in building upon or imitating the developments of other companies. Until recently, intellectual property law did not address this new area of technology, and so the legislative and judicial bodies of the world have changed and clarified intellectual property law to define the playing rules for companies in the computer technology industry.

While patents do provide an important form of protection for computer technology (e.g., semiconductor chips are patented and software may be patented when it meets the rigid criteria for patents), most of the debate and activity concerning intellectual property law and computer technology has focused on copyright...