Legal and Ethical Issues in IT: Tutorial

Outlining information:

NDAs not only outline confidential information, but also enable you to outline exclusive information. Exclusive information is free from protection or secrecy. Examples of exclusive information include the data available before signing a NDA, and common knowledge data.

1. Which two situations generally qualify as fair use? - creating parodies - using materials from websites - summarizing or paraphrasing articles for new reports - posting copyrighted pictures on websites - publishing a translation of someone's work

- creating parodies - summarizing or paraphrasing articles for news reports

1. Which International agreement established the protection of literary and artistic works? Which treaty came into existence to keep up with advancements in technology?

1. Most nations derive their laws from an international agreement called the __________________ for the Protection of Literary and Artistic works. 2. The ___________________ evolved to keep up with advancements in information technology. - Berne Convention - WIPO Copyright Treaty

Copyright Infringement

"Fair use" law should be used in a limited manner. The ultimate goal of fair use is to make sure that the original work is not harmed or defamed. It is also to make sure that the copyright owner does not lose any financial benefits. In general, the law considers using copyrighted material for educational purposes as fair use. There are no distinct rules to categorize copied works as fair use. For example, copying 300 words from a piece that originally had 500 words is not fair. However, copying 300 words from a book with 50,000 words could be fair. In the second case, the user is copying a significantly lower percentage of words from the original piece. If the small passage has significant value in the original work, then the user cannot copy it. This rule is regardless of the size of the passage. In addition, a person who cites quotes is not exempt from copyright infringement. Therefore, the quality and nature of the copied work is crucial in determining whether someone can use it without permission. The best way to avoid getting into legal actions is to acknowledge the original source.

Licensing:

A party that owns licensed material can grant its intellectual property to another party. This process is called licensing. Licensed IP comes with many limitations, such as the validity period of the license (called the term) and the territory in which the license functions.

Intellectual property Rights Passed by the Government

Different countries have different intellectual property rights. However, most nations derive their laws from an international agreement. This agreement is called the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Convention of 1886 requires member nations to maintain strong copyright laws. In addition, for works copyrighted in foreign countries, the Berne Convention requires nations to follow the copyright laws of the work's country of origin.

Methods of Using Copyrighted Works

Even though copyrights are exclusive rights, US Copyright law makes some exceptions. An (exception) refers to a limitation of the copyright law. It is referred to as fair use. Remember that only the copyright owner can reproduce, distribute, use, and display the copyrighted material. Anyone who wants to use this material must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The permission is given in the form of a license. When can people use copyrighted material without permission or a license? What uses fall under the terms of fair use? These can be complicated issues. In general, people may use copyrighted material without licensing for non-commercial purposes. They may also use it for the benefit of the public. Situations that generally qualify as fair use include: -quoting material for reviews, illustrations, or commentaries -summarizing or paraphrasing articles for news reports -quoting scientific, technical, or academic works for research and scholarships -photocopying sections for non-commercial educational purposes -creating parodies that use copyrighted material

Explanation:

In general, people may use copyrighted material without licensing for non-commercial purposes. Situations that generally qualify as fair use include: creating parodies and summarizing or paraphrasing materials for news reports.

Legal and Ethical Procedures

In the last few decades, there has been an increase in the advancement of technology. Also, the number of people using the Internet has increased drastically. Today, authors and creators can easily share their work with the public on a variety of platforms. Technology helps these creators gain audiences and advance their careers. However, this ease and freedom of sharing, advertising, and self-promotion comes at a cost. The tools that help creators can also harm them. New technologies, and the spread of the Internet, make copying or stealing intellectual property much easier. Nations establish laws to protect the works of artists and inventors, because theft is a serious issue. For example, in the United States, intellectual property rights such as copyright laws are part of the Constitution. As technology evolves and new forms of art, expression, and versions of previous works appear, these copyright laws tend to become outdated. Therefore, the government needs to constantly change and revise IPR and related laws. It is the responsibility of users to follow established laws, even in cyberspace. Technological advances do not give users the right to bypass laws.

1. What are the benefits of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)?

Intellectual property rights are exclusive rights that help protect both the creator and the creation. IPR offers exclusively (financial) benefits to the person or people covered by it.

Copyright Violations

The penalty for illegally using copyrighted work depends on the nature of the copyright infringement. As per title 17 of the United States Code, unintentional infringement may carry a fine of minimum $750 and maximum up to $30,000 per work. Willful (or intentional) infringement may carry a fine of $150,000 per work. Also, the offender may have to pay attorney fees, have the illegal work confiscated, or even go to jail. The offender can prove in court that the act was an unintentional copyright violation. The court may thereafter decide to reduce the legal damages to a minimum $ 200.

Patent rights:

The public release of a new product or concept puts its original creator at risk of retaining the product's patent rights. But a carefully drafted NDA can help the original creator to keep the product's (or concept's) patent rights.

Fair Use of Copyright Material

The terms of fair use are not well defined. Whenever someone uses any copyrighted material, the person should always acknowledge it appropriately. Various systems allow for providing citations as quotes and excerpts. Documents that contain researched matter should have a reference section to give credit to all the sources used. Therefore, it's advisable to acquire permission from the copyright owner before using a given work. The Copyright Law of the United States includes many acts and clauses that describe regulations for different entities that are eligible for copyright. It also describes works that are exempt from the Copyright Law, such as government publications. These are part of the public domain.

Protecting sensitive information:

Two parties sign a NDA to protect sensitive information. The party with whom the information is shared cannot leak or release this shared information. The affected party can claim breach (or violation) of contract in case the other party leaks the confidential information.

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO):

evolved to keep up with advancements in information technology. The WIPO Copyright Treaty protects computer codes and programs, and the arrangement of material in databases. This treaty protected various other items not covered by the Berne Convention.

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA):

is a confidentiality agreement between two parties. It is a legal contract that lists the documents and information the two parties can share for a particular purpose or time. NDAs are usually used in businesses to protect trade secrets, client details, product details, marketing plans, and so on. Therefore, with a NDA you can maintain secrecy about vital information and take legal action when this secrecy is not maintained. Let's look into the key functions of a NDA.

Trade secret:

is a design or technique that gives a company a commercial edge over its competitors.

Intellectual Property (IP):

is a legal concept usually enforced by federal and state laws in order to protect creators. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, or products of human intelligence, namely intangible goods. The laws that protect an individual's creations are intellectual property rights (IPR). Creators protected by IPR include artists, musicians, writers, and inventors. The use of IPR encourages growth and development in the fields of art and science. Intellectual property rights are exclusive rights that help protect both the creator and the creation. IPR offers financial benefits exclusively to the person or people it covers. They secure their creations against infringement.

Trademarks:

is a sign, symbol, name, or short phrase that reveals the origin of a product or service. For example, Apple's well-recognized logo is an image of an apple with a bite taken out. No one else can use this logo for commercial purposes without permission from Apple. If others use it without permission, it may lead to trademark infringement and violation of federal and state laws. A trademark also offers protection to consumers, because it is a sign of authenticity.

Infringement:

is an encroachment or violation of a law. Infringement in IPR implies the use of a creation without permission. IPR is implemented in the form of copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Let's look at each of these forms of IPR.

Plagiarism:

is the use of someone else's work, words, pictures, or ideas without giving appropriate credit to that person. Plagiarism is a matter of ethics, however, and not law. The practice mostly occurs in the academic world, and educational institutions consider it equal to stealing. However, plagiarism is not the same as copyright infringement. Copyright infringement constitutes many types of offenses (apart from plagiarism) and only applies to copyrighted material. Plagiarism is often seen in the print media and on the Internet. A person may copy content from a book (without acknowledging its source), or "copy and paste" content from a website. Plagiarism is punishable by an institute's rules. However, the consequences depend on the severity of the incident. In serious cases, an institution may expel an offender.

Patents:

protect inventions like new machines, chemicals, and so on. The government grants patents for specific products, methods, or processes. According to US patent law, a patent grant excludes all people, except the inventor, from making, using, offering for sale, and selling, the invention. In the United States, the US Patent and Trademark Office issues patents. These patents have a life span of 20 years. You can calculate the life span starting from the date on which you file the patent application. Inventions such as business methods, games, Internet innovations, computer software, and so on, all come under patent protection.

Copyrights:

protect original, creative expressions of an idea. Novels, musical compositions, films, paintings, photographs, and software are some examples of works that creators can copyright. Copyrights protect a specific creation. They do not protect the general theme of the creation. For example, a particular painting of a waterfall may receive protection under copyright law. However, no one can copyright the idea of painting a waterfall. Copyright holders have exclusive rights on their work of art, according to the Copyright Act of 1976. They can reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, and publicly display or perform their own work. A copyright generally lasts for the lifetime of the author or artist, plus 70 years.

Trade dress:

refers to the appearance of a product—its design, packaging, arrangement and labels.