Legitimacy For Reverse Engineering Of Computer Software From The View Of Copyright Law

Balance is the soul of modern copyright law. During the course of promoting the development of science and culture, of protecting the author and other parties'right and interests, and of realizing multiple values such as social justice, copyright law must harmonize all kinds of factors that maybe contradict each other. The same situation exists in using copyright law to protect computer softwares. The copyright law is not only needed to protect the work owner's legitimate rights, but also itself needs to absorb nutrition from the present knowledge to perfect it for the purpose of promoting the development of society. Reverse engineering of computer softwares is such a kind of engineering technique that through the conducts of decompilation and disassembly so that we can transform software object program into source program. It does not only have utilitarian value, but also jurisprudence basis.This essay firstly introduces the origin, concept, and aim of reverse engineering of computer softwares and the opposing views of strict-constructionist theory and pragmatist theory in defining its legal nature in the field of law. Then it argues that both softwares'source program and object program are subject matter of the identical copyright. The decompilation and disassembly which transform object program into source program belong to conduct of software reproduction. The exclusive right under copyrights which the software reverse engineering concerns is The right of reproduction. So we get the focus of the problem:in order to identify whether the act of the doing reverse engineering to a software's object program without the owners'permit does infringe owners' copyright, we need to make sure whether the act belongs to fair use.As we decide this problem, we can't just make a judge based on it is a commercial use or not. We must consider the productive mechanism and the act of performing reproduction of special form work belong to intermediary use or ultimate use. What's more, we also need to consider the channels of realizing the aims of copyright. Computer softwares are not written works, so the regulation that reproduction of written works belong to act of infringement can't be wholly used to softwares. The act that sells softwares to the public for use is the conduct of publishing the softewares. The character of softwares make it necessary to reproduce the whole software during the process of performing reverse engineering,. The compatible technique got from reverse engineering is softwares'functional factor. The result of reverse engineering will not actually harm the used softwares' market. But if reverse engineering is forbidden by law, it will cause the monopoly of the market by some powerful companies. So in order to make a balance between right owners and the public, the lawful status of reverse engineering should be set up.