797 F.2d 1222 (3d Cir. 1986)
The case of Whelan Associates v. Jaslow Dental Laboratory serves as a fundamental touchstone in the realm of intellectual property law, particularly concerning the copyrightability of computer software.
Does copyright protection extend beyond the literal code of a computer program to encompass its structure, sequence, and organization?
Copyright law protects original works of authorship, and this protection can extend beyond the literal code of a computer program to include its structure, sequence, and organization, so long as these elements incorporate the author's original expression.
The court held that the copyright of Whelan's software did extend to the structure, sequence, and organization of the program, beyond just the literal code, and hence, Jaslow's Dentcom program infringed upon Whelan's copyright.
Whelan Associates v. Jaslow Dental Laboratory is a seminal case for law students and practitioners interested in intellectual property, particularly software copyrights. It marked a pivotal point in establishing that software’s non-literal elements, such as its structure, could be protected under copyright law. This broadened copyright protection to software architecture, influencing future software litigation and policy-making.