SAS LANGUAGE MANUALS
SAS LANGUAGE SOFTWARE

SAS LANGUAGE MANUALS

SAS alleged that WPL had replicated a large part of the functionality of the SAS System in WPS, and that it had done so firstly, by copying the SAS Manuals into the source code of WPS and secondly, by indirectly copying the SAS System through its use of the SAS Manuals and the Learning Edition. SAS claimed copyright infringement against WPL. These contained exhaustive details of the SAS functionality and its external behaviour including details of the necessary inputs and expected outputs. Instead, its developers studied and observed a limited, 'Learning Edition' of SAS's system and referred closely to SAS manuals. In developing WPS, WPL did not have access to SAS source code. WPS offered an alternative because it could execute applications written in SAS Language, and delivered substantially the same outputs from the same inputs. Before WPS came onto the market, SAS Language applications could only be executed through SAS's system, effectively tying users to an SAS licence, unless they were willing to re-write their programs in another language. WPL's developers strove to emulate the functionality of the SAS system, offering users a substitute system. World Programming Limited ('WPL') developed a system – the World Programming System ('WPS') - to compete with SAS's system. SAS has a large user community that has written thousands of applications in SAS Language. Users can use Base SAS to write and run applications in 'SAS Language'.

SAS LANGUAGE SOFTWARE

SAS owns the copyright in a widely used software environment called Base SAS. Even if a developer does not access or copy source code, there may be an infringement if other copyright-protected elements of a program's user manuals, specifications or preparatory designs are copied. This article first appeared in Intellectual Property Magazine 1 July 2012įollowing the decision in SAS v WPL, developers should be cautious when copying the functionality of a program. SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Limited (C-406/10)

Sas language