Bowers v. Baystate Technologies, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
320 F.3d 1317 (2003)
Harold Bowers (plaintiff) sold software under a shrink-wrap license prohibiting reverse engineering of its code. Baystate Technologies, Inc. (Baystate) (defendant) declined Bowers's offer to collaborate, choosing instead to develop and sell a competing product with similar features. Baystate sued for a declaratory judgment that Bowers's patent was invalid, unenforceable, or not infringed; Bowers counterclaimed for copyright infringement and breach of contract. The jury found Baystate had breached the shrink-wrap license by reverse engineering Bowers's code, and Baystate appealed.
Whether private parties' contractual waivers of the fair-use defense and other affirmative defenses are preempted by the Copyright Act.