Advanced Computer Services v. MAI

Citation: ''Advanced Computer Servs. of Mich., Inc. v. MAI Sys. Corp.,'' 845 F. Supp. 356 (E.D. Va. 1994).

Factual Background
Several independent service organizations (ISOs) sued MAI for antitrust violations. MAI counterclaimed, inter alia, for copyright infringement. The ISOs claimed that their copying of the MAI software was a fair use.

As to the first fair use factor, the court invoked the Sony language about commercial uses being presumptively unfair, rejecting the ISOs public benefit argument. The court held that the public benefit from fair use “typically involves the development of art, science, and industry, and not. . . the purely financial interest of customers.”

The second fair use factor was seen as cutting against the ISOs, because software is “essentially a creative work.” The third factor, the extent of the copying, also favored MAI because booting the software usually copies “the entirety” and always copies the “heart of the copyrighted material.”

The fourth factor also favored MAI, because the court defined the relevant market not as the market for computer systems, but as the market for licensing of the software.