Question

It is entirely possible that two programmers could write very similar code to solve the same simple problem—say a program to play tic-tac-toe. However, as the problem being addressed grows in size and complexity, the number of ways to code a solution also grows. This can create a temptation for one programmer to "paraphrase" ideas taken from another programmer’s work, rather than writing original code. How might such "para- phrasing" be detected? Should paraphrasing of another’s code be considered copyright or patent infringement? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer:

It can be considered copyright infringement, but it has to be proven.

Explanation:

Intellectual property refers to all the original works that are created and/or owned by a party, such as an individual or an enterprise. Intellectual property is protected by different laws, either as copyright, patent, or trade secrets. Copyright law protects works, patent law protects certain processes or inventions, and trade secret laws protect information that is necessary for an enterprise to work. Anyone who willfully steals protected intellectual property is commiting infringement.

In our case, software is a tricky area. It is not uncommon for different programmers to arrive at the same solution independently, in which case there's no copyright infringement. But if a programmer willingly "borrows" or "paraphrases" certain ideas from another programmer, the affected party can argue copyright infringement. However, in order to do so, it must prove that there has been infringement. Paraphrasing can be detected if the affected party can prove that the processes and lines of code are close enough that the resemblance between the code can be explained only by copying. But if the other party can establish with enough credibility that it arrived at the solution on its own, without any copying, there's no infringement. This type of infringement, if there's any, can be considered copyright infringement. It could only be considered as patent infringement if the paraphrased code had already been registered before the United States Patent and Trademark  Office.