1

intellectual property (cont.)

Software as intellectual property

2

The law concerning software is not clear and is steal being formulated In USA Copyright Act amended in 1980 to

include software as a literary work Software has some characteristics of literary

works and some of engineered systems. Protected by both copyright and patent Protected by trade secret legislation

Software and law3

Nature of software.....challenges notions of intellectual property The source code of software in text form and can

be thought of as a literary work. However, the value of the software is in its functions and not its form

The purpose of software is to perform a useful function which makes it more like an invention

Because software can be presented as a mathematical algorithm, it isn't patentable (algorithms cant be patented)

The software you “buy” is often obtained under license and you do not own it

Software piracy4

The biggest problem concerning computer software and IPR is software Piracy

software piracy as the act of copying,distributing, or using proprietary software.

Software vendors distinguish between 2 classes of software piracy: Commercial piracy

Large scale copying By illegal orgs Casual piracy

Small scale...give a copy of program to a friend

Solution for piracies: Codes/serial numbers/ product code via phone/product activation Spywares...report illegal use to vendors(soft without license)

Key Intellectual Property Issues Issues that apply to intellectual property

and information technology Plagiarism Cybersquatting

Plagiarism

Theft and passing off of someone’s ideas or words as one’s own

Many students Do not understand what constitutes

plagiarism Believe that all electronic content is in the

public domain Plagiarism detection systems

Check submitted material against databases of electronic content

Plagiarism (continued)

Steps to combat student plagiarism Help students understand what constitutes

plagiarism Show students how to document Web

pages Schedule major writing assignments in

portions Educate students about plagiarism

detection services

Plagiarism Detection Services and Software

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition

9

Cybersquatting

Trademark is anything that enables a consumer to differentiate one company’s products from another’s May be

Logo Package design Phrase Sound Word

Cybersquatting (continued)

Trademark law Trademark’s owner has the right to prevent

others from using the same mark Or confusingly similar mark

Cybersquatters Registered domain names for famous

trademarks or company names Hope the trademark’s owner would buy the

domain name For a large sum of money

Cybersquatting (continued)

To control cybersquatting Register all possible domain names

.org .com .info

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Current trademark holders are given time

to assert their rights in the new top-level domains before registrations are opened to the general public

Summary

Intellectual property is any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value.

Intellectual property is protected by Copyrights Patents Trade secrets

Plagiarism is stealing and passing off the ideas and words of another as one’s own

Cybersquatting Registration of a domain name by an unaffiliated

party

13

14

15