IPA IP 2025 Question 30
A question IPA Japan published in 令和7年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問30, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Concerning copyright, which of the following is the appropriate combination of words to be inserted into blanks A and B in the description below?
A is subject to protection under the Copyright Act, but B is not.
Explanation
A: source program, B: communication protocol — Japan's Copyright Act protects a program as a work, but not the protocol it follows.
The Copyright Act protects creative expression. A program is one of the kinds of work it lists, so its source code is protected. Article 10(3), however, says that the protection of a program does not extend to the programming language, the rules (conventions such as interfaces and communication protocols) or the solutions (algorithms) used to create it. An operation manual is a written work, so it is protected as well.
- •Source program: protected, a concrete expression
- •Operation manual: protected, a written work
- •Algorithm: not protected, a method of solving a problem (it may be patentable)
- •Communication protocol: not protected, a rule for communication
A must be protected and B not, which only source program and communication protocol satisfy.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) — reverses both: an algorithm is not protected, and an operation manual is
- •(b) — an algorithm is a method, an idea, so it cannot be A
- •(c) — an operation manual is a protected written work, so it cannot be B
Key rule: Copyright protects concrete expression such as program code and manuals, not the language, protocols or algorithms behind a program; methods are the territory of patents.
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This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.