Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000

Lawful copies of computer programs.

81.—(1) It is not an infringement of the copyright in a computer program for a lawful user—

(a) to make a permanent or temporary copy of the whole or a part of the computer program by any means or in any form, or

(b) to make a translation, adaptation, arrangement or any other alteration of the computer program and to copy the results thereof,

to achieve the interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs where the following conditions are complied with:

(i) those acts are performed by the lawful user or on his or her behalf by a person authorised to do so;

(ii) the information necessary to achieve interoperability has not previously been available to the person referred to in subparagraph (i); and

(iii) those acts are confined to the parts of the original program which are necessary to achieve interoperability.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not permit the information obtained through its application—

(a) to be used other than to achieve the interoperability of the independently created computer program,

(b) to be given to persons other than those referred to in that subsection, except where necessary for the interoperability of the independently created computer program, or

(c) to be used for the development, production or marketing of a computer program substantially similar in its expression, or for any other act which infringes copyright.