Research On Legal Issues Of Software Reverse Engineering

In practice, computer software has been regarded as one of the basic ways of learning and developing new technology. At the same time, it is also regarded as an important way of preventing computer software becoming "technology barrier". As we don’t have special computer software protecting system and the copyright law, commercial secret law as well as patent law have some comments in protecting computer software revering project and even have possibility of overprotecting, therefore, based on computer open software and non-open software and combined with proper using system in copyright law, anti-monopoly system in commercial secret law as well as cross-licensing system in patent law, the author will have a complete analysis of its practicing conditions so that we can solve the problem of computer software overprotecting. We can also find new way of practicing computer software revering project.The first part of this paper mainly focuses on the basic theory of computer software reversing project analyzing software reversing project from technology, software market and legal aspects. The second part focuses on law and nearest theories of computer software reversing projecting home and abroad. The third part mainly focuses on analyzing practicing conditions of computer software reversing project under copyright law, commercial law and patent law so that we can better deal with problems faced in our research. The fourth part focuses on some problems to be implemented in the process of conducting computer software reversing project, including the effectiveness of "estoppels articles", the relationship between computer reversing project and technology protecting measures as well as getting ways of prohibiting public dissemination through reversing project and so on. Our country’s law about computer software reversing project is not mature and only appears in some legal practice or legal interpretation. So our country is in urgent need of making some special computer software protecting law and making united software reversing project conducting conditions so that we can better solve legal infringement in practice related to computer software reversing engineering.