Fair Dealing of Computer Programs in India

Though fair dealing provisions with respect to computer programs have been in existence for more than a decade, the interpretation of these provisions is still vague due to the lack of judicial precedents. This has caused considerable amount of confusion about the scope and ambit of these provisions and the true legislative intent, both in the industry and in the user community. This article attempts to clarify the fair dealing provisions dealing with computer programs under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. This article also tries to address the question on whether 'fair dealing' is in fact a right or an exception. It is a common practice among software companies to have a clause in their user licenses by which the users waive their right to reverse engineer the software supplied along with the license. The authors also examine this common practice which will amount to waiver of fair dealing right and examines the enforceability of such clauses.