ITPEC IP October 2025 Question 73

Right to use the program stored in the CD-ROM — buying a software package buys a licence to use the program, not the rights in the program itself.

A package purchaser becomes the owner of the physical disc and, through the software licence agreement, gets permission to use the program under its terms (for example, installing it on one PC). The copyright in the program stays with the author or software house, so the buyer may not copy, modify or redistribute it beyond what the licence allows.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

• •(b) — the copyright of the program remains with the software house; it can pass to someone else only by an explicit transfer, never by buying one copy
• •(c) — a design right protects the registered appearance (shape, pattern) of an industrial product and belongs to its registrant, not to a buyer of the product
• •(d) — the CD-ROM itself is a physical medium, not a creative work, so there is no copyright in it to acquire; the buyer simply owns the disc

Key rule: Owning a copy of software is not owning the software: the buyer gets the medium plus a licence to use, while copyright stays with the rights holder.

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