This book is a study of how computer programs have challenged the thinking about and the actual use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) around the world. In general, the intellectual property (IP) system is governed by the same rules and applies equally to all fields of developments. However, the particular nature of computer software has challenged these fundamentals. Software is a pluralistic product that contains several elements, each of which could fall into different categories of IP laws. Currently, several protection mechanisms are available for software, including copyright, patents, trademarks, contracts, licensing agreements, and technical measures of protection. However, it has been suggested that none of these mechanisms successfully provide an adequate level of protection to computer programs. This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of some of the major failures within the current European and American software IP ecosystems while focusing mainly on copyright and patent rules. Overall, this book provides a valuable contribution to the literature by revising the most relevant aspects of the IP software framework and by suggesting a number of innovative approaches to shaping the IP laws and facilitating their interpretation. The results of this book provide tools that could be used by scholars, lawyers, and policymakers around the world.

Starting point in the European individualistic copyright ideology is that an individual author creates a work and controls the use of it. However, this paper argues that it is (and has always been) impossible to control the use of works after their publication. This has also been acknowledged by the legislator, who has introduced collective licensing agreements because of this impossibility. Since it is impossible to rigorously control the use of works this writing "Rough Justice or Zero Tolerance - Reassessing the Nature of Copyright in Light of Collective Licensing" examines what reality of copyright is actually about. Finding alternative (and hopefully more "true") ways to understand copyright helps us to create alternative solutions in order to solve possible problems we have as it comes e.g. to use of content in online environment. The paper makes a claim that copyright is actually about defining negotiation points for different stakeholders and that nothing in the copyright reality prevents us from defining e.g. a new negotiation point where representatives of consumers would meet representatives of right holders in order to agree on the terms of use for certain content types in online environment.