Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

[F1 F2 50B Decompilation. E+W+S+N.I.

(1) It is not an infringement of copyright for a lawful user of a copy of a computer program expressed in a low level language—

(a) to convert it into a version expressed in a higher level language, or

(b) incidentally in the course of so converting the program, to copy it,

(that is, to “decompile” it), provided that the conditions in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions are that—

(a) it is necessary to decompile the program to obtain the information necessary to create an independent program which can be operated with the program decompiled or with another program (“the permitted objective”); and

(b) the information so obtained is not used for any purpose other than the permitted objective.

(3) In particular, the conditions in subsection (2) are not met if the lawful user—

(a) has readily available to him the information necessary to achieve the permitted objective;

(b) does not confine the decompiling to such acts as are necessary to achieve the permitted objective;

(c) supplies the information obtained by the decompiling to any person to whom it is not necessary to supply it in order to achieve the permitted objective; or

(d) uses the information to create a program which is substantially similar in its expression to the program decompiled or to do any act restricted by copyright.

(4) Where an act is permitted under this section, it is irrelevant whether or not there exists any term or condition in an agreement which purports to prohibit or restrict the act (such terms being, by virtue of section 296A, void).]

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Amendments (Textual)

F1 Cross-heading and ss. 50A-50C inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/3233, reg.8.

F2 Ss. 50A-50C inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/3233, reg.8.