In Colombian legislation, intellectual property is the regulatory discipline responsible for the legal protection of all creations of the human intellect. In this sense, intellectual property comprises two categories: industrial property and copyright. Specifically within the category of copyright, Colombian regulations protect and safeguard every human expression resulting from ingenuity and talent, encompassing creations of the human intellect regardless of their intended purpose.
Thus, Article 6, paragraph 2 of Law 23 of 1982 provides that: "ideas or the conceptual content of literary, artistic, and scientific works are not subject to appropriation. This law exclusively protects the literary, plastic, or sound form, as the author's ideas are described, explained, illustrated, or incorporated into literary, scientific, and artistic works"[1].
Likewise, Decision 351 of 1993, which establishes the Common Regime on Copyright and Related Rights, in its Article 4 provides that "The protection recognized by this Decision applies to all literary, artistic, and scientific works that may be reproduced or disclosed by any form or known or future means"[2], within which, in paragraph L, computer programs (software) are identified.
According to the above, in the case of computer programs, these consist of a set of instructions in words, codes, plans, or any other form that, when incorporated into a computer or electronic device, execute a specific task or obtain a specific result[3]. Thus, the computer program protects the software code and not the function. Therefore, it is important to register it, as this provides greater legal certainty and serves as evidence regarding the rights of the holders and the acts derived therefrom.
However, it is important to emphasize that copyright protection arises from the very moment the author creates the work, meaning that the exercise and enjoyment of an author's rights over their work are not conditioned upon registration; for with the mere expression of the author in the literary or artistic field, the work is protected against any form of use or exploitation[4].