Self-learning materials for Information Technology Competence (ITC) Test

1

Introduction

• Why do we need ethics for IT?

• Why do we need driving license?

• Is there any ethics for driving? • There are many traffic laws and regulations • The government invests a lot of resources in enforcing traffic

laws and regulations • Does this conflict with freedom of travel?

• A reckless driver can kill

• A responsible diver can give people mobility

2

Ethics? Laws? Regulations? Moral?

• Power and responsibility of using an IT device

• Computer, mobile phone, MP3 player

• Communicate to your love ones • Send hate message to ones who you don’t like • Search for knowledge • Deny others to obtain knowledge

• Concentrate on the law and regulations • Do not touch moral issues

3

Topics

• Intellectual Property • Freedom of Speech • Personal Data Privacy • Spam • Computer Crimes • Software and Network Security • Computing Policies and Regulations at the HKIEd • HKSAR Government Ordinances

4

Intellectual Property

• Why?

• Encourage intellectual effort in creating

new materials for everyone to learn

• Cannot have a free ride on others’

intellectual effort

• Encourage knowledge sharing

• Characteristics: Monopoly Power, Duration,

Territory and Exceptions

5

Intellectual Property

• Copyright

• Trademark

• Database

• Domain Name

• Patent

• Trade Secret (Confidential Information)

6

Intellectual Property - Copyright

• Registration • No need. The moment the work is created, the work has

copyright protection • To avoid dispute, should put copyright notice © or

“Copyrights” with the name of the owner and the year of creation.

• Scope • Only protect expression of idea – does not protect idea or

invention • Text, software, song, movie, photograph, drawing, drama

7

Copyright

• Duration • Life of the author plus 50 years, or • 50 years from creation or publication if the author is

unknown

• Offence • Criminal offence – if distribute the copyrighted

materials • e.g. Uploading an image from an adult newspaper in one’s Web blog

without an approval from the newspaper author might have infringed both the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance and the Copyright Ordinance)

• Civil lawsuit – private unauthorized use only • Exceptions: if the individual copy is for qualified

education use (non-commercial use), for example, 1. Articles in newspapers or periodicals/ Textbooks – use or deal with

reasonable portions of copyright works in a fair manner for teaching and learning

2. Musical work (with all the following conditions are satisfied): • the playing is in an educational establishment • the playing is to an audience consisting wholly or mainly of teachers, pupils and

their parents or guardians • the playing is for the purpose of giving or receiving instruction 8

Intellectual Property - Copyright

• Materials may not have copyright anymore (after the death of the author plus 50 years)

• Authors can choose to give up certain rights under copyright law

• Popular license – Wikipedia and Creative Commons – Copyleft • Wikipedia: “content can be copied, modified, and redistributed so

long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the Wikipedia article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement).”

• Creative Commons: allow others to copy, distribute and perform the work but subjected to limitation imposed by the author.

9

Intellectual Property - Database

• Only database that contains intellectual creative information can have copyright protection

• But be very careful in using others’ database

• Protected by licensing agreement • May contain confidential information • May be incorrect

• Be ethical

• Do not license outdated database to others • Do not use or incorporate others’ data without approval

10

Intellectual Property – Trademark

• Protect consumers by: • Confidently knowing where the product/service is from • Confidence in quality • Reduce searching cost

• 10 years protection in HK with renewal right

• 45 classes – different product categories

• Wing On Travel, Wing On Department Store

• Trademark application will be examined by Intellectual

Property Department • If a company owner already registered a logo in Hong Kong but

he/ she wants to use the same logo in a country outside Hong Kong. He/ She generally needs to apply registration from a legal body from the specific country.

• Cannot use other’s logos without prior approval

11

Intellectual Property - Trademark & Passing Off

• Usually whoever applies for the trademark registration first gets the trademark

• Can be revoked if no trade activity is associated with the trademark for a number of years

• Well known trademark – a trademark is so well known that it is protected against use for goods or services which would be likely to detract from its distinctive character.

• Passing off – a common law tort • to enforce unregistered trademark rights • where the reputation of a party A is misappropriated by party B • cause damage to the reputation or goodwill of party A

12

Intellectual Property – Domain Name

• Domain Name – dispute resolution mechanism

• International (.com)

• Complain to WIPO

• Hong Kong (.com.hk)

• Complain to a designated arbitrator

• Proof of real business, real use, and no

trademark infringement e.g. A man who is not the legitimate representative of a famous company, namely “Pepsi”. However, he found www.pepsi.com is available for sale and he registered the domain name. Later, Pepsi (the trademark holder) has the right to get back the domain name from the man. Moreover, if the man who intentionally registered www.pepsi.com and re-sells it to Pepsi for profit, he might become a cybersquatter and confronts the lawsuit of cybersquatting.

13

Patent

• Protect new invention

• Exclude others from using, selling, manufacturing

and importing the invention

• Must not be disclosed before

• Patent application will be examined by Intellectual

Property Department

• Duration

• short-term patent (up to 8 years)

• standard patent (up to 20 years)

14

Freedom of Speech

• Article 27 of Basic Law • Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of

the press and of publication • ≠ you are free to say or publish anything you like

through any media

• Limitations imposed by other laws • Limitations ≠ Violations of freedom of speech • Protect the minors from indecent materials • Protect the reputation of others

• Internet content is basically no different from contents in other medium

• Differs from one country to another

15

Freedom of Speech

• Defamation • Untrue statement concerning the reputation or character of a person

or a company • Be careful of what you said in your blog, a Web page or a chat-room • Civil acts

• Gangster • Societies Ordinance • Claim to be a member of a triad • Criminal acts

• Pornography • Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance • Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance

• Possession of child pornography

• Criminal acts

• Copyright (discussed already)

16

Personal Privacy

• Universities like to conduct telephone, face-to-face and online surveys. • May need to collect personal data

• Personal Data Privacy Ordinance - Data Protection Principles

1. Purpose and manner of collection 2. Accuracy and duration of retention 3. Use of personal data 4. Security of personal data 5. Information to be generally available 6. Access to personal data

e.g. A company should set policies to secure customers’ personal information

• Confidential information is protected by Common Law in Hong Kong.

17

Personal Privacy

• Exemptions • Personal data held for domestic or recreational purposes; • Employment related personal data; and • Security, defense and international relations; prevention or detection of crime; assessment or collection of any tax or duty; news activities; and health.

• Offences and Compensation • A penalty of a fine (at present HK$50,000) and imprisonment for 2 years. • Compensation from the data user for damage and injured feeling.

18

Spam

• Abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages • Unethical + may be unlawful • e.g. email, instant messaging/ SMS, mobile phone, newsgroup, forum,

blog, and guestbook • e.g. send an email to the customers for marketing promotion based

on click trail1 or without subject for testing

• Inconvenience, consume large amount of resources • Hard disk, memory, network bandwidth $ and time • Sources:

• Commercial, political parties, interested groups, and friends • You can also be a source of spam!

• Be ethical and responsible for what you send out

1A click trail is the sequence of link selections specific visitors make between entering and leaving a Web site.

Reference: http://www.emarketingdictionary.com/WebMarketingDictionary-Click-Trail-Definition.html

19

Spam

• Convergence of ethics and law

• Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance

• The Government steps in to balance consumer protection and commercial

activities (commercial electronic messages)

• Unsubscribe/Opt-out facility

• Sender must stop sending your further message after you un-subscription

• Do-not-call registers

• A central unsubscribe facility – once register, no more message from any

message sender

• Popular part-time job opportunity • May breach the law

20

Law Provisions Maximum Penalty

Telecommunications Ordinance S. 27A, Cap. 106

Hacking - prohibiting unauthorized access

to computer by telecommunication

Fine of HK$20,000

Crimes Ordinance S. 59 and 60, Cap. 200

Criminal damage to property - misuse of a computer program or data

10 years' imprisonment

Crimes Ordinance S. 161, Cap. 200

Hacking - prohibiting access to computer

with criminal or dishonest intent

5 years' imprisonment

Theft Ordinance S. 11, Cap. 210

Burglary - unlawfully causing a computer

to function other than as it has been

established and altering, erasing or adding

any computer program or data

14 years' imprisonment

Theft Ordinance S. 19, Cap. 210

False accounting - destroying, defacing, concealing or falsifying records kept by computer

10 years' imprisonment

21

Computer Crimes Defining of Property includes: any program or data held in a computer or in computer storage medium

Software and Network Security

• Will you lock your locker, home, or car? • Protect your property • Don’t let your computer become a criminal’s tool

• Virus • Purpose: spread itself to other computers • Damage: your computer data; install a Zombie; shut down your network

• Zombie • Purpose: take over your computer • Damage: launch attack on other computers using your identity and

resources

• Spyware • Purpose: monitor your computer activity • Damage: personal data privacy and annoyance

• Denial of Service • Purpose: deny access • Damage: computing and network service shutdown

22

Infected through

Protection Cautious

Virus

• Email • Instant

messaging • Web page • Programs

• scanner–real-time protection

• firewall–not to allow unauthorized access from inside and outside

• not to open unknown program sore mails,

• update Web browser

need to update virus signatures

Zombie need to update Zombie signatures

Spyware need to update Spyware signatures

Denial of Service

attack from outside

• firewall–not to allow unauthorized access from inside and outside

work with your Internet service provider

Software and Network Security

23

Computing Policies and Regulations at the HKIEd

• http://its.web.ied.edu.hk/policies/regulations.htm

1. Regulations Governing the Use of Computer Facilities

and Services

2. Guidelines and Regulations Governing the Use of

Computer Rooms

24

Network Acceptance Usage Policy at the HKIEd

• http://its.web.ied.edu.hk/policies/naup.htm

1. Proper Use of the Network Facilities

2. Requirement by the Law

3. Respect for the Rights of Others

4. Regulation Enforcement

5. Related Laws, Policies and Regulations

25

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Office of the Government Chief Information Officer

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data

• Intellectual Property Department

• Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA)

• Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO)

• Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance

26

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Office of the Government Chief Information Officer

• Computer Related Crime • http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/crime/crime.html • Introduces different types of computer related crimes, their impacts

and statistics

• Information Security-Related Ordinances

• http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/ordinances/ordinances.html • Contains law regulations related to information security

27

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data

• Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance • http://www.pcpd.org.hk/english/ordinance/ordglance.html • Provides details on the privacy ordinance which protects the

privacy interests of living individuals in relation to personal data

28

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Intellectual Property Department

• Intellectual Property in Hong Kong

• http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property.htm

• FAQs on Copyright • http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/copyright.htm

• The Jig-saw of Intellectual Property Protection on Information

Technology • http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/study_aids/jigsaw

_ip_it.htm

• FAQs on Trademarks • http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/trademarks.htm

• Offers information related to intellectual property including trademarks

and copyright

29

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA)

• Unsolicited Electronic messages Ordinance (UEMO) • http://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry_focus/uemo/index.html

• Provides information and frequently-asked-questions

on unsolicited electronic messages

30

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance

(COIAO)

• http://www.coiao.gov.hk/en/welcome.htm

• Provides information and frequently-asked-questions on the ordinance

31

HKSAR Government Ordinances

• Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance

• http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_ind.nsf/e1bf50c0

9a33d3dc482564840019d2f4/d75dc92fe659635b48256d73002b6712?OpenDocument

• Provides information of the ordinance

32

Environment

• Do save electricity

• Computer consumes

• Try to reused electronic devices

• poor families may find your used “toys” very useful

• can be recycled

• May contain poisonous materials

• mercury, lead

• batteries, electronic circuit boards

• More than 3,369 public collection points for waste

reduction (including collector/recycler, recycling

organizations, waste separation bin, clothes recycling

bank)

33

Confidential Information

• Information that is collected from a public source is not confidential information • Price lists found on Google for decision of buying

• Seek for approval and consensus of the subject if you

want to use confidential information • Protect yourself and the subject with a black-and-white approval

34

Code of practice on data confidentiality • Collection Limitation Principle - Personal data should be limited to the collection

with fair, lawful, and the knowledge or consent of the data subject.

• Data Quality Principle - Personal data should be accurate, relevant, and kept up to date.

• Purpose Specification Principle - The purpose of data collection should be specified not later than at the time of data collection.

• Use Limitation Principle - Personal data should not be disclosed for purposes other than those which have been specified.

• Security Safeguard Principle - Personal data should be protected against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

• Openness Principle - Openness about developments, practices and policies with respect to personal data.

• Individual Participation Principle - At reasonable intervals, a person should be able to obtain confirmation of whether or not personal data are held, and to have such data corrected or erased.

35

Conclusion

• Like it or not, there will more laws

• Both civil and criminal

• Try to develop habits to use IT responsibly

• But do enjoy the power of IT with ethics

36

Reference

• Intellectual property • http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property.htm • http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/resources_students.html

• Guidelines for photocopying

• http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/iplaws/guide_photocopy/guide_photo.pdf

• Trademark registration

• http://www.wipo.int/trademarks/en/about_trademarks.html#how_to_register

• Computer crimes

• http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/ordinances/corresponding.html

37