Dyason v Autodesk Inc

Dyason v Autodesk Inc involved a dispute over copyright infringement between the appellants, who sold a device that allowed licensed users of the respondents' software to operate it without the respondents' device, and the respondents, who claimed that this device infringed their copyright. The dispute was heard by the High Court of Australia. The central legal issue was whether the respondents' device, which was designed to prevent its programs from running on a computer without the device, constituted a "computer program" under the Copyright Act 1968. The court also had to determine if the appellants' device was a reproduction or adaptation in material form of the respondents' device and if the appellants authorised a breach of the respondents' copyright by selling their device. Furthermore, the court needed to interpret the meaning of "version" in the Act.

The High Court held that the respondents' device was not a computer program but a piece of hardware. Consequently, the appellants' device, being hardware and not software, could not be considered a reproduction or adaptation of the respondents' device. As such, the appellants' sale of their device did not constitute an infringement of the respondents' copyright. The court also concluded that the appellants had not authorised a breach of the respondents' copyright. The appeal was allowed, and the injunction and other orders made against the appellants were set aside. Instead, the claims were dismissed, and the respondents were ordered to pay the appellants' costs of the appeal and cross-appeal.