The Legal Status of Software, 23 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 711 (2005)

This article by cyberlaw specialist Daniel B. Garrie is intended to serve as a guide for judges to ensure that judicial decisions reflect an understanding of software’s multiple facets and its relation to the boundaries of the law. The article is designed to provide a high-level overview of software and then examine software in greater depth for specific legal areas likely to spawn legal disputes directly involving software. Included within the article are a brief overview of the current legal framework evolving with respect to software development (including an examination of the 2005 Supreme Court case Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.), a broad overview of software, and a series of tutorials on the cutting-edge technology that will likely be subject to litigation in the future.