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10 High Tech. L.J. 147 (1995)
The Ghost in the Machine: Mai Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. and the Problem of Copyright in RAM

handle is hein.journals/berktech10 and id is 153 raw text is: ARTICLE THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE: MAI SYSTEMS CORP. v. PEAK COMPUTER, INC. AND THE PROBLEM OF COPYING IN RAM BRADLEY J. NICHOLSON t Table of Contents I. IN TRO D U CTIO N ................................................................................. 147 II. THE OPERATION OF RAM IN A COMPUTER ............................. 148 III. THE COPYRIGHT ACT, ITS LEGISLATIVE HISTORY, AND PRE-M AI CASE LAW ......................................................................... 150 IV. MAI SYSTEMS, INC. V. PEAK COMPUTER, INC ........................... 157 V . PO ST-M AI CA SES ............................................................................... 163 VI. ANALYSIS OF MAI V. PEAK ............................................................. 165 A . M A I's Dilem m a .............................................................................. 166 B. MAI Created Rights For the Copyright Owner That Go Beyond the Traditional Protection of Copyright ....................... 167 VII. CO N CLU SIO N ..................................................................................... 175 I. INTRODUCTION In MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.,2 the Ninth Circuit considered a highly significant issue in computer copyright law: whether a software program loaded into a computer's random access memory (RAM) is a copy for purposes of the Copyright Act.3 Unfortunately, the court viewed the question narrowly, and ignored the statutory purpose of copyright. As a result, the court concluded that the image of a software program in RAM is a potentially infringing copy. In so doing, the court endowed the copyright owner with a broader bundle of rights than those to which it was entitled. The copyright owner not only gained © 1995 Bradley J. Nicholson. 1. John M. Conley & Robert M. Bryan, A Unifying Theory for the Litigation of Software Copyright Cases, 63 N.C. L. Rev. 563, 564 (1985) (computer programs are the ghost in the machine) (citing ARTHUR KOESTLEI, THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE (1967)). t J.D., 1990, University of Pennsylvania Law School.; B.A., 1983, Reed College. 2. 991 F.2d 511 (9th Cir. 1993). 3. 17 U.S.C. § 101 (1988 and 1995 supp.).

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