Graphic user interfaces: expressions in any form of a computer program?

GUIs: an expression, but of what?

Case C-393/09 Bezpečnostní softwarová asociace – Svaz softwarové ochrany was referred by the Nejvyšší správní soud (Supreme Administrative Court, Czech Republic) for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 5 October 2009.  The questions in need of an answer are as follows:

""Should Article 1(2) of Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs be interpreted as meaning that, for the purposes of the copyright protection of a computer program as a work under that directive, the phrase 'the expression in any form of a computer program' also includes the graphic user interface of the computer program or part thereof?

If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, does television broadcasting, whereby the public is enabled to have sensory perception of the graphic user interface of a computer program or part thereof, albeit without the possibility of actively exercising control over that program, constitute making a work or part thereof available to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29/EC of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society?"".

The Advocate General's Opinion has been published today, but not in English (though Latvians and Romanians will have no problem reading it in their native tongue).  According to Advocate General Yves Bot, the questions should be answered as follows:

«1) L’interface utilisateur graphique n’est pas une forme d’expression d’un programme d’ordinateur au sens de l’article 1er, paragraphe 2, de la directive 91/250/CEE du Conseil, du 14 mai 1991, concernant la protection juridique des programmes d’ordinateur, et, dès lors, elle ne peut pas bénéficier de la protection conférée par cette directive.

2) Lorsqu’elle constitue une création intellectuelle propre à son auteur, une interface utilisateur graphique bénéficie de la protection par le droit d’auteur en tant qu’œuvre au sens de l’article 2, sous a), de la directive 2001/29/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil, du 22 mai 2001, sur l’harmonisation de certains aspects du droit d’auteur et des droits voisins dans la société de l’information.

3) La diffusion télévisuelle de l’interface utilisateur graphique, parce qu’elle fait perdre à cette dernière sa qualité d’œuvre au sens de l’article 2, sous a), de la directive 2001/29, ne constitue pas une communication de l’œuvre au public au sens de l’article 3, paragraphe 1, de cette directive.»

If any kind soul with a good command of one of the luckily-selected official EU languages plus English can translate it, and even offer a comment or two, the 1709 Blog would be most grateful.

GUIs go to Luxembourg: some background

Back in December this blog drew the attention of its readers to Case C-393/09 Bezpečnostní softwarová asociace (Security software association) v Ministerstvo kultury ČR (Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic), a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union relating to copyright in graphic user interfaces (GUIs).

I've now received an email from Slovakian blogger Martin Husovec, who writes that we might be interested in the background of C-393/09. You can read it here. Thanks, Martin, and good luck with Huťko´s IT & IP legal blog.

GUIs go to Luxembourg

The Curia website this morning boasts news of yet another copyright-related reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union, this time from the Nejvyšší správní soud (the Czech Supreme Administrative Court). Lodged on 5 October 2009, this is Case C-393/09 Bezpečnostní softwarová asociace (Security software association) v Ministerstvo kultury ČR (Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic). The question asked is one that relates to GUIs (graphic user interfaces -- the things that turn one's daily activities on the computer from pain to pleasure) -- and the legal context relates to that slumbering and best-forgotten piece of obsolete legislation, the Software Directive:

"Should Article 1(2) of Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs be interpreted as meaning that, for the purposes of the copyright protection of a computer program as a work under that directive, the phrase 'the expression in any form of a computer program' also includes the graphic user interface of the computer program or part thereof?

If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, does television broadcasting, whereby the public is enabled to have sensory perception of the graphic user interface of a computer program or part thereof, albeit without the possibility of actively exercising control over that program, constitute making a work or part thereof available to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29/EC of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society?"

If any reader has background information about the dispute leading to this reference, the 1709 Blog would love to know about it.