It provides no protection against independent development of the same work. In other words, if a second programmer writes exactly the same program as the first programmer, but does so independently of the first programmer, the second programmer may commercially exploit his efforts without infringing any copyrights of the first programmer. Copyright's advantages The major advantages of copyright protection are low cost and simplicity. It's a far simpler process than is required of those wanting to go the patent or trade secret routes. But bear in mind that those advantages are diminished by the limited protection copyright provides.
Some software developers rely upon state trade secret law to protect their software.
The information that may constitute a trade secret is very broad, and clearly includes computer software in most cases. This condition is satisfied if the information gives its owner an advantage over his or her competitors who do not know it. For example, trade secret protection may extend to a chemical formulation that the public knows. But people who use that formulation to receive unique benefits will probably want their particular use of it to remain a secret. Typically this condition may be satisfied by using precautions to limit access to the information, combined with agreements of third parties to keep the information confidential when it is disclosed to them.