Intellectual Property
Week 6
What is Intellectual
Property?
Intangible creative work
embodied in physical form
comes from the creativity,
ideas, research, skills,
labor, and nonmaterial
efforts provided by
creators
Property rights to
physical property
created or bought:
 right to use it
 right to prevent others
from using it
 right to set the price for
selling it
As the Owner
You may
give it away
lend it
resell it
BUT not make copies - this
right belongs to owner of
copyright or patent
Protection benefits
Protects right of creator for
compensation
encourages production of
valuable, intangible, easily
copied creative work
Copyright and Patent
 US copyright law gives holder
the following exclusive rights:
 make copies of work
 produce derivative works
 distribute copies
 perform work in public
 display work in public
Purpose of copyrights and
patents
encourage production of
useful work
encourage the use and flow
of information
 Trademarks
Software Copyrights
Allow an exception - owner
can copy a program to
make a backup
Copyright exemptions
Ideas
Facts
Titles
Names?
Short phrases
Blank forms
Copyright Duration
Expires 75 years from date
of publication
or 100 years from date of
creation
Lasts for life of the owner
plus 50 years
On hold for now!!!
Copyright and Intellectual
Property
Protects
 creative expression
 selection of ideas
 arrangement of ideas
Patents
granted for inventions of
new things or processes
protect new ideas by giving
inventor a monopoly on the
invention for a specified
period of time - 20 years
Purpose of Patents
To reward the inventor
encourage disclosure and
use of invention
allows others to benefit
from invention
Patents protect...
 Underlying idea of the invention  not just a particular expression
of implementation of it
 Prohibits anyone else from using
the idea without authorization of
the patent holder
Software as Intellectual
Property
 Billions of $ are illegally
copied every year
 Rules have been extended to
include software
 Is it a patent or copyright
issue?
 Is it an invention or writing?
Software Piracy
Copying of software in
large quantities for resale
illegal copying by
businesses and individuals
for their own use
Piracy - Who does it hurt?
 Businesses lose $$$$
 Impedes development of new
software
 Development uses lots of people
they only get reimbursed if it is
sold
 Users
 no documentation
 no updates
 no customer support
Software Publisher
An owner of a software
copyright
History of Copyright Law
 1790 - first US copyright law to
cover:
 books
 maps
 charts
 Updated to include
 movies
 sound recordings
 photography
History continued
 1909 - Copyright Act
 unauthorized copy had to be in
a form that could be seen and
read visually
 1960 - Software and Databases
 can’t be visually seen or read
(music)
 1976, 1980 - law revised to cover
software - exhibit authorship
History continued...
 1982 - High volume copying of
records and movies became a
felony
 1992 - making multiple copies
of copyrighted work willfully
and for purposes of
commercial advantage or
private gain is a felony
Liabilities
 Damages plus any profits up to
$100,000 for each “work”
 10+ copies - $2500 - 5 years in jail
 -10 copies - <1 year in jail
 fines as high as $250,000
 Companies fined if 10+ employees
have illegal copies on computers
What is Permissible?
Copy to hard drive
one backup
license specified copies
copy on second machine but cannot use both
machines at the same time
ITS EASY to COPY!!
Good quality
Fast
Everyone does it
Rentals
Illegal
Leads to piracy
1990 - Software Rental
Amendments Act - must
have permission of owner
of copyright
Educational Facilities
More moral obligation to
abide by laws
Discounts
Site license agreements
Businesses
“Shoplifting” - take home
 extra use for office
One software package per
customer
Lots of copies OK if limited
use at one time
Fair Use Test
Purpose and character of
use
Nature of copyrighted work
Relative amount to the
whole
Effect on the market
Purpose and Character of
Use
 Commercial nature or nonprofit educational purposes
 Preamble purposes
 criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching,
scholarship, research
 Degree of transformation
Nature of the Copyrighted
Work
Some works are more
deserving of protection
than others
Relative Amount
Quantity
Quality and importance
“no more was taken than
was necessary” to achieve
purpose for which the
copying was done
Effect on Market
Harm to the original
Harm to derivative works
Importance of Fair Use
Helps figure out under
what circumstances we can
legally copy software
Software developers often
must copy some or all of
another company’s
program as a part of the
development process
Piracy
Businesses - produce and
sell unauthorized copies of
popular package
Businesses buy few install many
Download Software from
Internet
Mass Reproduction
Mainly in Foreign countries
Intellectual property not
recognized
Small computer industry
Few legitimate dealers
Poorer population
In- House Copying
 Reproduce on large number of
machines
 Share on networks
 Keep down costs - rarely caught
 Difficult to comply with
requirements
 Licensing agreements are unclear
and confusing
Freebies for Friends
Illegal
Hard to catch
Saves money
Everyone does it
Not a large market
Prevention
 Technical devices to prevent or
deter copying
 enforcement and revision of
law
 education for protection
 education of social costs
 marketing and contractual
changes to reduce incentive
Technical Solutions
Copy protection on disks
Serial numbers
Secret e-mail to publishers
Enforcement and
Education
 Software Publishers Association
 responds to tips - sends warning
letters
 Conducts voluntary audits
 Surprise raids with court orders
 Monitor of Internet - inform FBI
Markets and Management
Prices reflect usage
Metering
academic discounts
Management policies
Free demos
Copyright in Cyberspace
High volume
inexpensive storage media
scanners
easy to copy and distribute
Literacy & Artistic
Material
Photos, Modified pictures
Digital music
Digital libraries
Legislation
No free browsing
Extend owners’ control to
all digital copies
Include all digital
transmissions
Make on-line providers
responsible
Technology Bans
If it makes copying easy ban it
Government controls on
technology that can be
used for illegal purposes sound familiar?
Software Developers
Reverse Engineering
Copy and decompile
Ruled Fair Use in Courts