SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS AFTER MAI SYSTEMS V PEAK COMPUTER

In MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Peak committed copyright infringement by running MAI operating system software incidental to Peak's repair of the computer system. The court rejected Peak's section 117 defense under the Copyright Act because it refused to recognize a licensee of computer software as an ''owner'' of a copy of software. This Note argues that the decision contravenes both the substance and principles of federal copyright law, and unnecessarily harms computer owners. It suggests a two-tiered analysis that courts should follow when evaluating copyright infringement claims involving software licensing agreements and third parties.