Software protection

In the case of software there are two protection possibilities: copyright and patent protection.

Copyright protection - The Copyright Act (Act No. LXXV. of 1999) having entered into force on September 1, 1999, provides protection for computer program creations and related documentation, referred to as software. The provisions of the copyright law are compatible with the relevant Directives of the European Union.

The duration of the copyright protection is 70 years calculated from the death of the author.

The copyright protection does not cover the idea, principle, procedure, method of operation or mathematical operation on which the software interface is based.

The economic rights of the software are transferable.

Patent - Software cannot be protected by patent if a patent is claimed for it exclusively in such capacity. Although computer programs as such are excluded from patentability, any computer program involving a technical solution might be protected by patent as a method or a computer system relating to the technical content of the computer program. The examination of computer implemented inventions, including computer programs, is based on examination rules being similar to those applied by the European Patent Office.