Reverse Engineering Legal Comparative Study

The legality of reverse engineering is a crucial question, which deserves our due attention. China is now developing its science and technology, so a favorable legal environment for this development is necessary. The legality of reverse engineering has a long history. Though the present challenge of the legality of reverse engineering is reasonable in some sense, the interest conflicts involved and the long tradition of reverse engineering determine that the legality of reverse engineering will continue in the foreseeable future.The paper starts with the concept, current status and basic procedures of reverse engineering and then elaborates on the legal stipulation and legal practices in the United States, EU and those of international treaties. The paper concludes with some legislative suggestions based on present legislative conditions, practices and existing issues of China.This paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter one is about general information of reverse engineering stating its concept, present conditions and essential procedures in conducting it. Chapter two focuses mainly on legal analysis of reverse engineering in the United States including basic codes in this respect, laws in relating to protection of trade secrets, unfair competition and patent. Most of this chapter is dealing with laws specialized in this respect, such as Anti-Plug-Mold Laws, The Semiconductor Chip Protection Act (SCPA), the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA). Then the chapter discusses legal issues involved and gives comments on legal stipulation and practices thereof. Chapter three deals with provisions of international treaties in this regard, including Direction for Computer Software Protection, TRIPS, WIPO Copyright Convention. The last chapter analyzes China's copyright law, anti-unfair competition law and contract laws in relation thereto and provides suggestions on how to improve present legislations in China.