ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the conceptual framework in the area of copyright law regarding computer software programs. The key concepts of the framework in the context of copyright protection of computer programs are defined in terms of structure and agency. It also examines various approaches to analyze the history of copyright law and its origins and modern principles to understand the structural rules of the copyright system. The chapter then explores the ways in which legal rules and resources work as enablements and constraints on the actors in the copyright system who try to obtain their objectives through their communicative activities, that is via their arguments. Finally, it summarizes the discussions with the aim of formulating a set of specific research questions to examine the process in which copyright stakeholders regarding computer programs use their strategic efforts to influence court decisions in their arguments, rationale, and interpretations.
