CISB 412 Social and Professional Issues Understanding Intellectual Property

Reference Materials used in this presentation are extracted mainly from the following texts, unless stated otherwise. Michael J. Quinn “Ethics for the Information Age”, 3 rd edition. Pearson 2009

Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson you should be able to – Identify intellectual properties issues that come with the use of Information Technology – Apply the ethical principles on the issues to establish morality of the action

What Is Intellectual Property? Any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value. Refers to the creation of the mind. Consists of human knowledge and ideas. – Books, songs, movies – Paintings, drawings – Inventions, chemical formulas, computer programs – Quotes

Intellectual Property Intellectual property or IP refers to exclusive rights to intellectual capital, some forms of which can expire after a set period of time, and other forms of which can last indefinitely

Intellectual Property Who reserves the rights? Creator will usually reserve the exclusive rights to their creations = COPYRIGHT What can the rights do? Gives the holder some exclusive rights to control some reproduction of works of authorship, for a certain period of time – Conferred by law, can be given, sold, rented (called "licensing"), in much the same way as physical property. However, the rights typically have limitations, sometimes including term limits and other exceptions

Copyright Different countries carry different copyright length Source: Wikipedia

Patent A public document that provides detailed description of invention – Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia Provides owner with exclusive right to the invention Owner can prevent others from making, using, or selling invention for 20 years

Trademark, Service Mark Trademark: Identifies goods Service mark: Identifies services Distinctive names, phrases or marks used to identify products to consumers – Company can establish a “brand name” (johnson & johnson’s), a “tagline” (I’m Lovin It) etc Does not expire If brand name becomes common noun, trademark may be lost (aspirin, yo yo, thermos, escalator)

Trade Secret Where a company keeps information secret – perhaps by enforcing a contract under which those given access to information are not permitted to disclose it to others Confidential piece of intellectual property that gives company a competitive advantage (strategic plans, customer lists) Never expires Not appropriate for all intellectual properties (movie) Maybe compromised when employees leave firm

Copyright in General It is a means of legally protecting a person’s intellectual property, ensuring that other people do not copy or adapt the material. When? Effective by : Copyright protection comes into being when the material is created A copyright statement is not required in order for a work to be covered by copyright. All kinds of items and mediums are protected by copyright, even electronic resources.

Copyright in General Who owns the copyright? – Copyright is theoretically owned by the creator of the work; – But if the creator is an employee, and the works were created in the course of employment, the copyright will belong with the employer. – Who owns the copyright of your FYP? – As a student or researcher, how do you make your action of taking the ideas from the Internet legal?

Licensing – from software perspectives What are licenses? – Licenses authorize individuals or groups to use pieces of software legitimately. – Without licenses, ownership or usage is illegal and those individuals in violation have liability for piracy Types of licenses – Cyberlicenses – Freeware, Shareware – Shrinkwrap licenses - legal agreement, such as a software license, to which one indicates acceptance by opening the shrink-wrap that encloses a product subject to the agreement.

Cyber - Licensing Freeware Free Software Shareware – Nagware – Liteware – Crippleware – Abandoneware

Software Piracy Piracy (dictionary definition) 1.robbery on the high seas 2.the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception esp. in infringement of a copyright What is software piracy? – It is the unauthorized duplication of computer software.

Software Piracy Types of software piracy 1.Softlifting: purchasing a single licensed copy of software and loading it onto several computers contrary to the license terms. For example, sharing software with friends, co-workers and others. 2.Uploading and downloading: making unauthorized copies of copyrighted software available to end users connected by modem to online service providers and/or the Internet.

Software Piracy 3.Software counterfeiting: illegally duplicating and selling copyrighted software in a form designed to make it appear legitimate. 4.OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) unbundling: selling standalone software that was intended to be bundled with specific accompanying hardware. 5.Hard disk loading: installing unauthorized copies of software onto the hard disks of personal computers, often as an incentive for the end user to buy the hardware from that particular hardware dealer. 6.Renting: unauthorized selling of software for temporary use, like you would a video.

Software Piracy Common arguments justifying software piracy – All knowledge should be free – No one is getting hurt – I could code it if I had the time – I didn't know it was illegal – I’m not using it for business purposes

Source: The Australian Computer Society 1.What’s wrong here ? 2.Can you use any of the ethical theory to support your answer?

Another case study Steven was recently hired as the inventory manager for a small electronics firm. Steven’s new employer—IHT Electronics—does not have a centralized IT department, and as a result the firm’s 75 employees have been free to make illegal copies of unlicensed software and install them on the firm’s computers. In fact, this behavior is encouraged by the firm’s owner, who argues that the software they need to run the business is too expensive for such a small firm. Steven needs his job and is reluctant to say anything about the piracy. At the same time, however, he knows that piracy is illegal and that everyone will get in trouble if they are caught. Source: