[rolph]

in many cases a snip;routine;proc...whatever you work with, is rote procedure. such as device access. ie retrieving a directory listing.

code that reverts to a conserved sequence of bytes interchanged ,no functional variations.

code that is so common knowledge it has become street graffiti, belongs in world 2

versus code that creates a functionality not available by direct command, is innovative and should be attributed. this sounds like what 1st world should be.

[williamcotton]

That’s not actually how it works. Purely functional code, such as code that it written in a certain way to achieve maximum performance, is not deemed expressive and therefore not covered by copyright. This code would be covered by patent.

[rolph]

i think we are actually talking about the same thing.

in simpl terms:

mov bax eax ; an obvious function; no IP

mov eax eax ; seems useless unless you know what de-referencing is. probably IP

this is of course example not considering granularities at level of patents on a language, or macro directives