Autodesk Inc v Dyason [1992] HCA 2

Autodesk Inc v Dyason [1992] HCA 2

Widget C was a computer program and a literary work in which copyright subsisted. Its 127-bit look-up table was a substantial, indeed essential, part of that program. Mr. Kelly indirectly copied that look-up table by observing the output of the AutoCAD lock and storing the identical sequence in the EPROM of the Auto Key lock. The EPROM was a material form from which that substantial part could be reproduced. Production of the Auto Key lock therefore reproduced a substantial part of Widget C and infringed the appellants' copyright.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Procedural Posture
Copyright Infringement Appeal / High Court Appeal by Special Leave From the Full Court of the Federal Court
Outcome
Appeal allowed; production of the Auto Key lock constituted infringement of copyright in the AutoCAD program, in particular Widget C.
Legal Topics
['computer Programs as Literary Works' 'reproduction in a Material Form' 'substantial Part' 'software Copy Protection Devices' 'idea Expression Distinction']
['copyright' 'intellectual Property' 'computer Software'] ['computer Programs as Literary Works' 'reproduction in a Material Form' 'substantial Part' 'software Copy Protection Devices' 'idea Expression Distinction']

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Procedural Posture

Copyright Infringement Appeal / High Court Appeal by Special Leave From the Full Court of the Federal Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether production and marketing of the Auto Key lock infringed copyright in the AutoCAD program, in particular Widget C.' 'Whether the Auto Key lock reproduced in a material form a substantial part of Widget C by storing the 127-bit look-up table sequence in an EPROM.' 'Whether either the AutoCAD lock or the Auto Key lock was, or incorporated, a computer program within the meaning of the Copyright Act 1968 Cth.' 'How the definition of "computer program" in s. 10(1) of the Copyright Act 1968 Cth applies to stored sets of instructions and expressions in language, code or notation.']

Ratio Decidendi

Widget C was a computer program and a literary work in which copyright subsisted. Its 127-bit look-up table was a substantial, indeed essential, part of that program. Mr. Kelly indirectly copied that look-up table by observing the output of the AutoCAD lock and storing the identical sequence in the EPROM of the Auto Key lock. The EPROM was a material form from which that substantial part could be reproduced. Production of the Auto Key lock therefore reproduced a substantial part of Widget C and infringed the appellants' copyright.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; production of the Auto Key lock constituted infringement of copyright in the AutoCAD program, in particular Widget C.

Orders

  • ['Appeal allowed with costs.']