Streamlining the software development process through reuse and patents

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we want distributed Internet-based applications”[David Wood, President of the Australian Java Users Group]. Yet, to a large degree this is occurring in the software industry and is promoted by copyright law. As the on-line world expands, and platform-independent languages such as Java are created, there will be no need to reinvent applications for different machines and operating systems. Software reuse has innumerable benefits, yet software developers are still not embracing software reuse, especially small software developers. This paper examines why this is so, and analyses available legal regimes in terms of their suitability for promoting software reuse, including the appropriateness of trade secrets, shrinkwrap licences, copyright and patents. The paper concludes that the patent regime is most suited to the promotion of software reuse through the mass-marketing of reusable software components. Patent protection for software in Australia has followed the development of software patent law in the United States. The requirements for patenting software components in Australia will be addressed. The shift to reusing code through software components can already be seen by new applications and patents in the Patent Offices throughout the world. Software reuse is important to the development of a global software industry. Reuse of code will lead the way towards standards in the on-line world which are a by-product of a maturing discipline. The impact of patent protection of software components on competition in the software industry will also be addressed briefly. Strong intellectual property protection should be given to reusable software components which are necessary to achieve uniformity, standards, interoperability and convenience to the user.© 1999 Annelies Moens