CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Chapter 4.3.4 – 4.7: Intellectual Property II

See Dilbert cartoons about intellectual property:http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-09-16/

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-01-24/

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 1

The entertainment industry has successfully used peer-to-peer file sharing as means of legally delivering content to users:A. TrueB. False

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 1 Answer

A. True

"Intriguingly, the entertainment industry itself began using [peer-to-peer] technology to provide legal content. Several companies made contracts with peer-to-peer companies such as BitTorrent to deliver movies and music via peer-to-peer technology because it speeds downloads. Instead of sending all files from a central server, customers receive a movie in pieces from the computers of other customers" (p. 224)

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 2

The following describes the scheme of “negotiated payments”:A. Web sites that host copyrighted material pay the

copyright holders a portion of the revenue it earns from selling copyrighted material

B. Web sites that host copyrighted material pay copyright holders a negotiated one-time fee to host the material

C. Web sites that host copyrighted material pay copyright holders a portion of the revenue it earns from advertisements

D. None of the above

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 2 Answer

C.

See p. 224

YouTube has such agreements in place.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 3

The following legal advertising tactic has been used by some companies: A. Embed ads in copyrighted material, and distribute the

material to peer-to-peer sites (no fee paid)B. Embed ads in copyrighted material, pay the copyright

holder a fee, and distribute the copyrighted material to peer-to-peer sites

C. Embed decoys in copyrighted material in order to make it easier to download the material

D. None of the above

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Quiz Question 3 Answer

B.

See p. 225

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 4

The following is true of the “Creative Commons”:A. It sells a variety of licensing agreements

pertaining to web contentB. It has developed a variety of licensing

agreements pertaining to web contentC. It enforces a variety of licensing agreements

pertaining to web contentD. All of the aboveE. None of the above

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 4 Answer

B.See gray box on p. 226. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that has developed licensing agreements that "explicitly permit a selection of actions normally requiring authorization from the copyright owner." It does not deal with enforcement of these agreements, however.

Example: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 5

Of the following arguments in support of personal copying or posting of web content without authorization, your textbook author finds the following one better than the others:A. Making a copy for a friend is an act of generosity.B. This violation is insignificant compared to the billions of

dollars lost to large-scale piracy.C. I cannot afford to buy the item.D. I want to use the item legally, but I have no idea how to

get permission.E. None of the above

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 5 Answer

D.

"This is a better argument than many others" (p. 229, top bullet). "The 'transaction costs', as economists call them, are so high that a strict requirement for obtaining permission slows development and distribution of new intellectual property.“

Which argument do you find most convincing?

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 6

The Business Software Alliance estimates that piracy accounts for the following percentage of PC software in use worldwide:A. 15B. 25C. 35D. 45E. None of the above

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Quiz Question 6 Answer

C.

See p. 229.

This estimate is outdated! Let’s look at a more recent study:

http://portal.bsa.org/piracyimpact2010/index.html

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 7

Kelly v. Arriba Soft, a court case that took place in 2002, ruled the following:A. It is fair use for search engines to display query results

containing thumbnails of copyrighted images.B. It is not fair use for search engines to display query

results containing thumbnails of copyrighted images .C. It is not fair use to cache (copy) web pages for use in

search results.D. None of the above

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Quiz Question 7 Answer

A.

See p. 232. Also, Field v. Google found that it is fair use to cache web pages.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 8

The “free” in the term “free software” refers specifically to:A. Free of costB. Freedom to copy and modify the software for

one’s own useC. Both of the aboveD. None of the above

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Quiz Question 8 Answer

B.

See p. 235

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Quiz Question 9

The concept of “copyleft” states thatA. the concept of copyright is inherently wrong. B. copyrights on software should not apply to

derivative works.C. anyone can use, modify, or distribute a

software program so long as these rights are retained in the new work.

D. All of the above.E. None of the above

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 9 AnswerC.

See p. 236

See the GNU public license:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Public_License

“Copyleft thus uses copyright law to accomplish the opposite of its usual purpose: instead of imposing restrictions, it grants rights to other people, in a way that ensures the rights cannot subsequently be taken away. It also ensures that unlimited redistribution rights are not granted, should any legal flaw be found in the copyleft statement.”

(Quote from above Wikipedia page)

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 10

The following best characterizes the current situation in the U.S. with with respect to patents for software:A. The Supreme Court has ruled it is possible to patent

software itself, and software patents are being grantedB. The Supreme Court has ruled it is possible to patent

software itself, but software patents are NOT being grantedC. The Supreme Court has ruled it is NOT possible to patent

software itself, and software patents are NOT being grantedD. The Supreme Court has ruled it is NOT possible to patent

software itself, but software patents are being granted

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 10 Answer

C.

"The Supreme Court said in 1981 that software itself is not patentable because it is abstract. A machine that includes software, however, could be eligible for a patent. In the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. Patent Office began to issue software patents. A federal court with jurisdiction over patents upheld them, sometimes interpreting the Supreme Court guidelines loosely." (p. 239).

Can you think of a software patent that seems absurd or obvious?

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 11

In one of the largest patent awards in U.S. history, Alcatel-Lucent won a settlement from Microsoft for its infringing use of A. JPG technologyB. MP3 technologyC. Video streaming technologyD. Operating system technologyE. None of the above

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Quiz Question 11 Answer

A.

See p. 240.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Quiz Question 12

According to your book's author, the following is a reasonable means of determining whether Computer Program A infringes the copyright of Computer Program B:A. If we remove from consideration the purpose of Program A

along with its parts that are in the public domain and are common practice, are the remaining parts of Program A similar to Program B?

B. Is Computer Program A an exact copy of Computer Program B?

C. Is Computer Program A very similar in structure and performance to Computer Program B?

D. None of the above

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Quiz Question 12 Answer

A.

Last paragraph of p. 242. Answers (B) and (C) are examples of methods used by previous court cases that, in the authors' view, didn't apply appropriate similarity tests.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Update: Google Books Settlement

• On p. 233, the book mentions the Google Books project and states that lawsuits against it remain unsettled.

• Let’s look at this update on the lawsuits:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Book_Search_Settlement_Agreement

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Update: U.S. Patent Reform Act

• There have been three consecutive attempts (2005, 2007, 2009) to reform patent law since 1953

• None has been successful (yet)• For more:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Reform_Act_of_2009

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Does Anyone Have a Question for Sherry Gordon?

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Discussion Exercise: Online Political Discussion (Clicker)

4.10 (p. 244): A political group organized a forum on its Web site to encourage people to post and comment on individual newspaper articles relevant to political issues of concern to the group. Other participants added their comments, and debate and discussion of the articles continued. Two newspapers sued, arguing that posting the articles violated their copyrights. Analyze the case. How do the fair-use guidelines apply? Who should win?A: Political groupB: NewspapersC: Not sure

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Discussion ExerciseRecipe Analogy (Ex. 4.29)

A cook can modify a recipe by adding or deleting a few ingredients without getting permission or paying a royalty to the person who developed the recipe.A. Give an example of modifications of a professional song or a

software tool that is analogous to a cook using the recipe.B. Do you think your example satisfies fair-use guidelines?

Explain why.C. Copyright protects coookbooks. A court would likely find

that selling a cookbook in which many of the recipes are slight modifications of previously-published recipes is a copyright infringment. Give an example of modifications of a professional song or a software tool that is analogous to selling such a cookbook.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Discussion Exercise:Software for the “Public Good” (Ex. 4.31)

In the 1990s, two writers suggested that software is a “public good,” like public schools and national defense, that we should allow anyone to copy it, and that the federal government should subsidize it. Suppose this proposal had been adopted then. How well do you think it would have worked? How would it have affected the quantity and quality of the software produced? Give reasons.

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Considerations for Determining Fair Use (pp. 206-07)

1. What is the purpose and nature of the use (commercial vs. nonprofit vs. educational)? Commercial less likely to be fair use

2. What is the nature of the copyrighted work? Creative work less likely to be fair use

3. How much of the copyrighted work is used? The more used, the less likely it’s fair use

4. What is the impact of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work? Uses that reduce sales less likely to be fair

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CptS 401, Spring 2011 3/1/2011

Reminders

• Thursday class: Guest speaker Sherry Gordon• Next Tuesday: Midterm exam review• Next Thursday: Midterm exam

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