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ARTICLE · 11 DECEMBER 2024

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CJEU Clarifies Copyright Protection For Software Variables

Jones Day
Jones Day
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The Situation: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") ruled that modifying temporary variables in the working memory of a computer without enabling the reproduction or further.

GermanyIntellectual Property
Emmanuel G. Baud
Emmanuel G. Baud
Edouard Fortunet
Edouard Fortunet
Marc Groebl
Marc Groebl
Rebecca Swindells
Rebecca Swindells
Colin Devinant
Colin Devinant
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In Short

The Situation: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") ruled that modifying temporary variables in the working memory of a computer without enabling the reproduction or further execution of such a program does not constitute copyright infringement under the Directive 2009/24/EC ("Software Directive").

The Result: The ruling resolved a 12-year long dispute between Sony and Datel in Germany over cheat systems for PlayStation consoles.

Looking Ahead: The CJEU's decision provides guidance on the scope of copyright protection for computer programs in the EU, in particular the interpretation of the term "modification," and clarifies that data used during the execution of a program are not protected as an expression of the program. This may have implications for the gaming industry, notably programmers and online dealers, as well as other sectors that rely on software development and innovation.

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