This is the first comprehensive examination of the EC Council Directive of 14 May 1991 (On the Legal Protection of Computer Programs) and as such will be of immense use to all lawyers engaged in advising producers and users of software. The work is organized in two parts. Part I, scheduled for publication in March 1993, takes a general look at the Directive, its legislative history, its importance in the UK, its importance as seen from the US, the international effect of the Directive, and its significance within the general European framework for the protection of intellectual property. Part II, scheduled for publication in the summer of 1993, consists of National Reports from the EC member states describing and analysing the impact of the Directive in each of the States. This book is intended for practitioners and scholars of computer law, software law, intellectual property law and EC law.