A computer program, like a Database, is a special type of intellectual property object that has received legal protection relatively recently.
For the first time in the world, a computer program was registered as an object of intellectual property in 1961 in the United States. In 1980, under US law, the Computer Program was included in the list of copyrighted objects.
At present, there are three instruments for the legal protection of computer programs in the world: copyright, patent law and trade secret legislation.
Depending on the country, legal protection for the Computer Program may be provided without its state registration. At the same time, in most countries it is possible to register the Computer Program at the request of the copyright holder.
In the United States, the Computer Program is registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. Registering and depositing a Computer Program with the US Library of Congress is the most common and universal way to obtain international legal protection.
At its core, a computer program is a set of data and an algorithm - a sequence of certain actions. Therefore, in some cases, presenting the entire computer program as a set of material actions performed on a material object, it is possible to obtain additional legal protection as a technical solution protected as an invention.
At the same time, against the general background of countries, the United States can be distinguished, as a country in which national patent law officially allows the protection of software as an invention.
