On 25/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 25/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 25/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 28/03/2013.
39A.
—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the copyright in a literary work, being a computer program expressed in a low level language, is not infringed by a lawful user of the computer program decompiling it if —
(a)
it is necessary to decompile the computer program to achieve the objective of obtaining the information necessary to create an independent computer program which can be operated with the computer program decompiled or with another computer program (referred to in this section as the permitted objective); and
(b)
the information so obtained is not used for any purpose other than the permitted objective.
[52/2004]
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the lawful user —
(a)
has readily available to him the information necessary to achieve the permitted objective;
(b)
does not confine the decompiling to such acts as are necessary to achieve the permitted objective;
(c)
supplies the information obtained by the decompiling to any person to whom it is not necessary to supply the information in order to achieve the permitted objective; or
(d)
uses the information —
(i)
to create a computer program which is substantially similar in its expression to the computer program decompiled; or
(ii)
to do any act restricted by copyright.
[52/2004]
(3) Where an act is permitted under this section —
(a)
it shall be irrelevant whether or not there exists any term or condition in an agreement which purports to prohibit or restrict the act; and
(b)
any such term or condition shall, insofar as it purports to prohibit or restrict the act, be void.
[52/2004]
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, this section is without prejudice to the generality of section 35 and does not limit the operation of that section.
[52/2004]
(5) For the purposes of this section and sections 39B and 39C, a person is a lawful user of a computer program if he has a right to use the computer program, whether under a licence to do any act restricted by the copyright in the computer program or otherwise.
[52/2004]
(6) In this section, “decompiling”, in relation to a computer program expressed in a low level language, means —
(a)
converting the computer program into a version expressed in a higher level language; or
(b)
incidentally in the course of so converting the computer program, copying the computer program,
and “decompile” shall be construed accordingly.
[52/2004]