L 111/16 Official Journal of the European Union 5.5.2009 DIRECTIVES DIRECTIVE 2009/24/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs (Codified version) (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), ) Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: (6) (1) The content of Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs (3) has been amended (¥). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. (2)  The development of computer programs requires the investment of considerable human, technical and financial resources while computer programs can be copied at a fraction of the cost needed to develop them independently. (3) Computer programs are playing an increasingly important role in a broad range of industries and () OJ C 204, 9.8.2008, p. 24. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 June 2008 (not yet (8) published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 23 March 2009. () OJ L 122, 17.5.1991, p. 42. (*) See Annex I, Part A. computer program technology can accordingly be considered as being of fundamental importance for the Community’s industrial development. Certain differences in the legal protection of computer programs offered by the laws of the Member States have direct and negative effects on the functioning of the internal market as regards computer programs. Existing differences having such effects need to be removed and new ones prevented from arising, while differences not adversely affecting the functioning of the internal market to a substantial degree need not be removed or prevented from arising. The Community’s legal framework on the protection of computer programs can accordingly in the first instance be limited to establishing that Member States should accord protection to computer programs under copyright law as literary works and, further, to estab- lishing who and what should be protected, the exclusive rights on which protected persons should be able to rely in order to authorise or prohibit certain acts and for how long the protection should apply. For the purpose of this Directive, the term ‘computer program’ shall include programs in any form, including those which are incorporated into hardware. This term also includes preparatory design work leading to the development of a computer program provided that the nature of the preparatory work is such that a computer program can result from it at a later stage. In respect of the criteria to be applied in determining whether or not a computer program is an original work, no tests as to the qualitative or aesthetic merits of the program should be applied.