Abstract
Medical computer programs are proliferating at an acceleration exceeded only by that of the hardware systems on which they run. Huge amounts of time and money are being invested in the programs' development and management. That investment can be legally protected by one or more of trade secrets, copyrights and patents. However, only copyrights and patents can provide protection for a computer program that is publicly known. Copyrights and patents protect different things, have different costs, vary in their availability, and begin and end at different times. The selection of the form of protection depends upon the owner of the computer program and upon economic, programming and legal considerations. Whatever form is selected, valuable medical computer programs must have some protection so that their development is encouraged.
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