Intellectual property protection for IT developments - The debate continues

The level of intellectual property protection which should be afforded to IT developments has been the subject of debate in both legal and scientific circles for the past 15 years. The extent to which third parties should be allowed to use the work of a developer raises conflicting public policy and commercial issues. The paper addresses those issues, the current intellectual property regime and in particular recent developments in the U.S. and Australia which have seen a considerable expansion in the use of patents and an evolving role for the protection provided by copyright.