Computers in Society Intellectual Property

Term Papers A draft is due SOON! November 9 I will grade the outline of your paper. At this point you need to have the following Basic references A first cut at a poster An introduction An outline of the entire paper Write your paper directly in the wiki! I will have some form / style guidelines in place next week.

Schedule Tuesday: 3-D graphics and the Urban Challenge. Thursday: DRM – you MUST DO the reading!

Posters Your application presentation isn’t finished until I get the poster.

Intellectual Property Many of the big issues and controversies involving computing are related to Intellectual Property (IP). What is IP? What forms of IP are there? How do we claim ownership of IP? What is the purpose of IP law? What are the hazards of IP law?

Basic Copyright Ideas How do authors obtain copyright? How long does it last? Can you copyright “general ideas”? Can you accidentally infringe? What is fair use? What is a derivative work? Can things with a limited expression be copyrighted? (facts, for example) How does IP differ from physical property?

The Public Domain What is the public domain? How do works enter the public domain? What can you do with public domain works? How can you be sure something is in the public domain?

Should Copyright Last Forever? What sort of article is this? When was it written? Who is the author? What is the basic argument of this work? What would happen if IP is owned in perpetuity? What does the US constitution say about IP? What other sorts of “public good” are not allowed (according to the author)?