{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/copyright-designs-and-patents-act-1988/section-296A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/copyright-designs-and-patents-act-1988/section-296A.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1988/48",
  "legislation_title": "Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/copyright-designs-and-patents-act-1988",
  "path": "section/296A",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "296A",
  "heading": "Avoidance of certain terms.",
  "text": "(1) Where a person has the use of a computer program under an agreement, any term or condition in the agreement shall be void in so far as it purports to prohibit or restrict—\n(a) the making of any back up copy of the program which it is necessary for him to have for the purposes of the agreed use;\n(b) where the conditions in section 50B(2) are met, the decompiling of the program; or\n(c) the observing, studying or testing of the functioning of the program in accordance with section 50BA.\n(2) In this section, decompile, in relation to a computer program, has the same meaning as in section 50B",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 296A inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/3233, reg.11."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Cross heading and s. 296A inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/3233, reg.11"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "S. 296A(1)(c) substituted (31.10.2003) by The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2498), reg. 15(4) (with regs. 31-40)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/296A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:47:40.311838+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}