Legal & Ethical Responsibilities in Information Technology - Vocabulary

Privacy Invasion

intrusion into the personal life of another individual without just cause

Defamation

act of damaging or attacking the reputation of someone or something in a malicious or false way

Fair Use

any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and transformative purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize or parody

Non-Disclosure Agreement

contract by which two or more parties agree not to disclose confidential information which they have shared with each other

Intellectual Property Agreement

contract executed between or among collaborating institutions for the purchase and sale of intellectual property rights

Code of Ethics

document which outlines a set of acceptable behaviors for an organization or social group

Open Source

document, software or development model of which the original source is made freely available to the public

Copyright

exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee, to print, publish, perform or record creative materials

Patent

government license which gives the holder exclusive rights to make, use or sell an invention for a designated period of time

Policies and Regulations

guidelines which describe acceptable and unacceptable employee behaviors in the workplace

Creative Commons

non-profit organization which provide legal tools for authors and artists

Copyright Infringement

occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner

Creative Common License

one of several public copyright licenses which enables the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work

Intellectual Property

property (as an idea, invention or process) that derives from the work of mind or intellect

Laws

rules the members of a society create to balance the individual rights to self-determination against the needs of the society as a whole

Ethics

set of moral principles which outline the standards of right and wrong

Trademark

symbol which identifies a particular source of goods or services from others

Trademark Infringement

unauthorized use of a trademark in a manner which is likely to cause confusion, deception or mistake about the source of goods or services

Patent Infringement

use of a patented invention without permission from the patent holder

Cyberbullying

use of electronic communication to bully a person