Software piracy and software patents 7 Chapter Software piracy and software patents 2nd and 3rd Week of the Semester

What is Software Piracy? Composed of two categories Piracy Counterfeiting

Piracy comes in several varieties End User Piracy Re-seller Piracy (counterfeiting) BBS/Internet Piracy Trademark/Trade Name Infringement

End User Piracy Copying the same software onto more than one computer. Copying office software onto a home computer. Loaning your software to someone else so that the person can make a copy. Making a copy and selling the software to someone else. Selling old software.

Re-seller Piracy An individual or company who takes one copy of software and deliberately reproduces it with fake certificates so that those who purchase it believe it is being purchased from the company which developed it . Many peoples may have the same serial number.

BBS/Internet Piracy Distribution of copyrighted software via the Internet or a bulletin board system. Sites which are set up to distribute software have made arrangements with the software owners to make their software available.

Trademark/Trade Name Infringement Improper use of a registered trademark.

Effects of Software Piracy on the Pirate Expense, embarrassment, ethically wrong Fines up to $250,000 Jail sentence of up to 5 years Payment of legal fees (your own and the company suing you) Business Software Alliance received $5 million in settlements in 1995 alone for software copyright infringement (BSA)

Software Licenses All software comes with a license which specifically states the terms and conditions under which the software may be legally used. Faculty, staff and students at educational institutions and organizations are not exempt from copyright laws. 15 15

Six simple steps to avoid piracy Buy from an authorized dealer Understand what it is you are buying Check the prices and ask for itemized quotations and receipts Be sure you are given a license Retain the original media Call the software publisher

Copyright A copyright is a right of intellectual property which is granted to authors whereby they obtain, for a limited time, exclusive rights to their works financial and other rights Copyright is federal law that ties to the “copyright clause” of the U.S. Constitution

How do You Know if Something is copyrighted? Assume that everything that requires someone to have thought about it is copyrighted A copyright notice is NOT required, although many people do add the copyright notice The copyright notice includes the name, a © and a date of (first) publication

What Does Copyright Protect? Basically all intellectual work including Multimedia works (records, videos, audiotapes) Printed works (books, journal articles) Websites (text, documents, and graphics) Architecture Software (even freeware!)

What Does it Not Protect? Ideas Facts Names Titles Phrases

Copyright Websites Business Software Alliance. Guide to Software Management - Copyright Law http://www.bsa.org/policy/copyright/index.html