An Analysis of Licensing Agreements in Retail Computer Programs and the Effect of the Consumer Protection Act
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| Argitaratua izan da: | PQDT - Global (2015) |
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Citation/Abstract Full Text - PDF Full text outside of ProQuest |
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| Laburpena: | 1.1 Background – The nature of software products and intellectual property lawThis dissertation seeks to study the nature and effectivity of licence agreements concluded in respect of retail computer programs after promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act.Copyright falls under the umbrella of intellectual property law. The object of copyright is an idea or concept which has been reduced to material form. The holder of the copyright in a specific work enjoys certain rights which he alone may exercise in respect of that work. Any other person performing an action restricted by copyright will infringe on the copyright holder‘s rights and he may, depending on the nature of the work, seek an interdict or claim royalties. However, by means of a licence agreement, a copyright holder may grant another person permission to exercise those rights.The Copyright Act 98 of 1978 has been specifically amended to include computer programs as a specific form work in which copyright can vest. This dissertation is primarily concerned with the evaluation of licence agreements for computer programs that are distributed to the public en masse. These computer programs may be accompanied by a standard form licence agreement which the consumer must assent to in order to make use of the product. It may be displayed to the consumer on the box in which the program is retailed (under a translucent wrapping paper, giving rise to the term ―shrink-wrap agreements‖), and it may also be displayed when the computer program is installed onto a computer. In the latter case the consumer will only be allowed to proceed with the installation when the user has by positive action assented to the licence agreement. There is essentially a dual transaction: there is the purchase at the retailer of the computer program and in addition to it there is a license agreement that the consumer must enter into in order to use the computer program.With the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act a number of requirements have been introduced relating to contracts between suppliers and consumers. Specifically, the Consumer Protection Act has been structured in a manner that extends its scope to include computer programs as well as licences in respect of computer programs. This is due to the broad definition of the word "goods": ‘goods‘ includes- (a) anything marketed for human consumption; (b) any tangible object not otherwise contemplated in paragraph (a), including any medium on which anything is or may be written or encoded; (c) any literature, music, photograph, motion picture, game, information, data, software, code or other intangible product written or encoded on any medium, or a licence to use any such intangible product; (d) a legal interest in land or any other immovable property, other than an interest that falls within the definition of ‗service‘ in this section; and (e) gas, water and electricity |
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| ISBN: | 9798380956314 |
| Baliabidea: | ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global |