Lord Electric Co. v. United States

How later courts describe this case

• "Interpreting 'commencement of infringement' as the time when the first act of infringement in a series of ongoing discrete infringements occurs ... would best promote the early registration of a copyright. It would strongly encourage prompt registration."
• despite lack of evidence of direct source code copying, copyright infringement found because protection extends to structure, sequence, and organization of program
• “Where there are various means of achieving the desired purpose, then the particular means chosen is not necessary to the purpose; hence, there is expression, not idea.”
• copyright in computer program extends beyond literal codes to protect structure, sequence and organization