312 Test review 2
Tony Scarlatos
Fall 2013
Legal Protection to IP
• Copyright – written or artistic expressions
fixed in a tangible medium. Books, poems,
songs, movies, works of art. Protects the
manifestation.
• Patents – invention of any new, useful, and
non-obvious process, machine, article of
manufacture, or composition of matter, or any
new and useful improvement thereof. Protects
the idea.
Legal Protection to IP
• Trade marks – name, word, logo, symbol, etc.
used to identify a product and/or service.
Protects both manifestation and idea.
Patent
• You register with the government. Can register in
foreign countries. US patent is issued by USPTO
– Registration may take more than a year
• You gain the right to exclude others from making,
using, or offering for sale the invention
• Patents generally last for 20 years
• Once you hold a patent, others can apply to license
your invention
• Types - Utility, design, chemical, software, etc.
Copyright Holders’ Exclusive Rights
– A copyright is valid for the lifetime of the author
plus 70 years
– making copies
– distributing copies
– producing derivative works, such as translations
into other languages or movies based on books
– performing the work in public (e.g. music, plays)
– displaying the work in public (e.g. artwork, movies,
computer games, video on a Web site)
Copyright History
• 1790 first copyright law passed in US (1710 in UK)
• Copyright Act of 1909 defined an unauthorized copy
as a form that could be seen and read visually
• 1976 and 1980 copyright law revised to include
software and databases that exhibit "authorship"
(original expression of ideas), included the "Fair Use
Doctrine“
– 1976 law stated that the copy is in violation if the
original can be perceived, reproduced, or
otherwise communicated by or from the copy,
directly or indirectly – an improvement over “seen
and read visually”
Copyright History (cont.)
• 1982 high-volume copying of records and
movies became a felony
• 1992 making multiple copies for commercial
advantage and private gain became a felony
– >10 copies, worth >$2,500 get up to 5 yrs in jail
• 1997 No Electronic Theft Act made it a felony
to willfully infringe copyright by reproducing
or distributing one or more copies of
copyrighted work with a total value of more
than $1,000 within a six-month period (profit
provision dropped)
Copyright History (cont.)
• 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
– Anti-circumvention provisions: prohibits
making, distributing or using tools to
circumvent technological copyright protection
systems
– Safe-harbor provisions: Protects Web sites if
they remove material when asked by the
copyright holder, which offered protection
from some copyright lawsuits for Web sites
where users post materials
• 2005 Congress made it a felony to record a
movie in a movie theater
Fair Use Doctrine (1976 Law)
• Goals of copyright law is to promote
production of useful work and encourage the
use and flow of information
• Examples of fair use:
– Quoting a portion in a review
– Education (even making multiple copies for
classroom use)
Fair Use Doctrine (1976 Law)
• Four factors to determine fair use
1. Purpose and nature of use – e.g., commercial
2. Nature of the copyrighted work (novel less likely
than factual)
3. Amount and significance of the portion used
4. Effect of use on potential market or value of the
copyrighted work (will it reduce sales of work?)
• No single factor alone determines, not all factors
given equal weight, depends on circumstances
Significant Cases (1)
Sony v. Universal City Studios (1984)
• Sony made Betamax video cassette recording
(VCR) machines, which were used to record
movies shown on TV
• Supreme Court decided that the makers of a
device with legitimate uses should not be
penalized because some people may use it to
infringe on copyright
• Supreme Court ruled that recording a movie
for later viewing was fair use
Significant Cases (2)
Reverse engineering: game machines
• Reverse engineering: translate a program from
machine code to a form that can be read and
understood
– Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade Inc. (1992)
– Atari Games v. Nintendo (1992)
– Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. v. Connectix
Corporation (2000)
Significant Cases (2)
• Courts ruled that reverse engineering (to learn how
one platform works so that a company can make a
compatible product) does not violate copyright if the
intention is to make new creative works (video
games), not copy the original work (the game
systems)
Significant Cases (3): Napster
Sharing music: the Napster case (2001)
• Napster provided a way for users to exchange music
files (no files retained on Napster site)
• Metallica filed suit against Napster – followed by
A&M
• Was the sharing of music via Napster fair use?
Significant Cases (3): Napster
• Napster's arguments for fair use
– The Sony decision allowed for entertainment use
to be considered fair use
– People make copies for personal, not commercial,
use
– Did not hurt industry sales because users sampled
music on Napster and bought the CD they liked
Napster (cont’d)
• RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)'s
arguments against fair use
– "Personal" meant very limited use, not trading with
thousands of strangers
– Songs and music are creative works and users were
copying whole songs
– Claimed Napster severely hurt sales
• Court ruled sharing music via large-scale
copying on Napster violated copyright
Significant Cases (4)
File sharing: MGM v. Grokster (2005)
• Grokster, Gnutella, Morpheus, Kazaa, and others
provided peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services
– The companies did not provide a central service or
lists of songs, but the software for sharing files
– P2P file transfer programs have legitimate uses
• Lower Courts ruled that P2P does have legitimate
uses
• Supreme Court ruled that intellectual property
owners could sue the companies for encouraging
copyright infringement
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998
• Anti-circumvention
– Prohibit circumventing technological access
controls and copy-prevention systems
• Safe harbor
– Protect Web sites from lawsuits for
copyright infringement by users of site
The DMCA vs.
Fair Use, Freedom of Speech, and Innovation
• Lawsuits have been filed to ban new
technologies
• U.S. courts have banned technologies such as
DeCSS even though it has legitimate uses,
while courts in other countries have not
– CSS: content scrambling system, to protect movies
• Protesters published the code as part of
creative works (in haiku, songs, short movies,
a computer game and art)
• U.S. courts eventually allowed publishing of
DeCSS, but prohibited manufacturers of DVD
players from including it in their products
Safe Harbor
• Industry issues "take down" notices per the DMCA
• As long as sites like YouTube and Facebook comply
with take down notices they are not in violation
• Take down notices may violate fair use, some have
been issued against small portions of video being
used for educational purposes
• In addition, entertainment companies argue YouTube
should have the responsibility to filter out copyrightinfringement material
– YouTube said it cannot always tell which are
unauthorized
Free Software
• Free software is an idea, an ethic, advocated
and supported by large, loose-knit group of
computer programmers who allow people to
copy, use, and modify their software
• Free means freedom of use, not necessarily
lack of cost
• Open source - software distributed or made
public in source code (readable and
modifiable)
• Proprietary software - commercial, sold in
object code, obscure, not modifiable. E.g.,
Microsoft Office
GNU project
• Began with a UNIX-like operating system, a
sophisticated text editor, and many compilers
and utilities
• Now has hundreds of programs freely
available and thousands of software packages
available as free software (with modifiable
source code)
• Developed the concept of copyleft
What is Hacking?
• Hacking – currently defined as Intentional,
unauthorized access to computer systems
• The term has changed over time
• Phase 1: early 1960s to 1970s
– It was a positive term
– A "hacker" was a creative programmer who wrote elegant
or clever code
– A "hack" was an especially clever piece of code
Hacking (cont.)
• Phase 2: 1970s to mid 1990s
– Hacking took on negative connotations
– Breaking into computers for which the hacker does not
have authorized access
– Still primarily individuals
– Includes the spreading of computer worms, viruses and
‘phone phreaking’
– Companies began using hackers to analyze and improve
security
Hacking (cont.)
• Phase 3: starting the mid 1990s
– The growth of the Web changed hacking; viruses
and worms could be spread rapidly
– Political hacking (Hacktivism) surfaced
– Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks used to shut down
Web sites
– Large scale theft of personal and financial
information
The Law re. Hacking
• 1984 Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse
Act (CFAA)
– Covers government computers, financial and medical systems,
activities that involve computers in more than one state,
computers connected to the Internet
– Outlaws hacking activities: DoS, malware, unauthorized access,
fraud, impairing gov operations, public utilities
– The USA Patriot Act expanded the definition of loss to include
the cost of responding to an attack, assessing damage and
restoring systems
Stealing Identities
• Identity Theft – various crimes in which a criminal or large
group uses the identity of an unknowing, innocent person
– Use credit/debit card numbers, personal information, and
social security numbers
– 18-29 year-olds are the most common victims because
they use the web most and are unaware of risks
– E-commerce has made it easier to steal card numbers and
use without having the physical card
Theft Techniques
• Techniques used to steal personal and financial
information
– Phishing - e-mail fishing for personal and financial
information disguised as legitimate business e-mail
• Smishing – text messaging. Vishing – voice phishing
– Pharming - planting false URLs in Domain Name Servers,
lead to false Web sites that fish for personal and financial
information
– Online resumes and job hunting sites may reveal SSNs,
work history, birth dates and other information that can be
used in identity theft
Responses to Identity Theft
• Authentication of e-mail and Web sites
• Use of encryption to securely store data, so it is useless if
stolen
• Authenticating customers to prevent use of stolen numbers,
may trade convenience for security
• In the event information is stolen, a fraud alert can flag your
credit report; some businesses will cover the cost of a credit
report if your information has been stolen
• Biometrics: biological characteristics unique to an individual –
“what you are”
Protection Techniques
• Preventing use of stolen numbers
– Activation for new credit cards
– Retailers do not print the full card number and expiration
date on receipts
– Software detects unusual spending activities and will
prompt retailers to ask for identifying information
– Services, like PayPal, act as third party allowing a customer
to make a purchase without revealing their credit card
information to a stranger
Libel law: threat to free speech
• Libel tourism: Traveling to places with strict libel laws in order
to sue
– SPEECH Act of 2010 makes foreign libel judgments unenforceable in
the U.S. if they would violate the First Amendment. Foreign
governments can still seize assets
• Where a trial is held is important not just for differences in
the law, but also the costs associated with travel between the
countries; cases can take some time to trial and may require
numerous trips
• Freedom of speech suffers if businesses follow laws of the
most restrictive countries
Cybercrime Treaty
• International agreement foster international
cooperation among law enforcement agencies of
different countries in fighting copyright violations,
pornography, fraud, hacking and other online crime
• Treaty sets common standards or ways to resolve
international cases
• It requires countries to outlaw some formally legal
activities
“Responsibility to prevent access”
• So far governments are assuming a
“Responsibility to prevent access” principle:
It is the responsibility of providers of services and
information to make sure their material is not
accessible in countries where it is illegal. They may
be sued or jailed in those countries if they do not
prevent access
Alternative Principles
• So far governments are assuming a “Authorityto-prevent entry”:
Government of Country A can act within Country A
to try to block the entrance of material that is illegal
there, but may not apply its laws to the people who
create and publish the material, or provide a service,
in Country B if it is legal there.
The Impact on Employment
Job destruction and creation:
• A successful technology eliminates or reduces some
jobs but creates others
– Reduced the need for telephone operators, electric meter
readers, mid-level managers
• New industries arise
– Chip industry, Internet, Cellular communications, clouds,
smartphone software
• Lower prices increase demand and create jobs
– Music industry changed from serving the wealthy to serving
the masses, employing more than just musicians
A Global Workforce
• Outsourcing - a company pays another company to build parts
for its products or services instead of performing those tasks
itself
• Offshoring - the practice of moving business processes or
services to another country, especially overseas, to reduce
costs
• Inshoring - when another company employs thousands of
people in the U.S. Almost 5% of U.S. workers work for foreign
companies
Telecommuting Issues
Benefits
• Reduces employer
overhead
• Reduces need for large
offices
• Employees are more
productive, satisfied, and
loyal
• Reduces traffic congestion,
pollution, gasoline use, and
stress
• Reduces time and expenses
for commuting and money
spent on work clothes
• Allows work to continue
after blizzards, hurricanes
Problems
• Employers see resentment
from those who have to
work at the office
• For some telecommuting
employees, corporation
loyalty weakens
• Odd work hours
• Cost for office space has
shifted to the employee
• Security risks when work
and personal activities
reside on the same
computer
Data Entry, Phone Work, Retail
• Data entry
– Key stroke quotas
– Public performance records to encourage
competition
– Beep when workers pause
• Phone work
– Number and duration of calls
– Idle time between calls
– Randomly listen in on calls
• Retail
– Surveillance to reduce theft by employees
Location Monitoring
• Cards and badges used as electronic keys increase
security but track employee movements
• GPS tracks an employee's location
– Used in some hospitals to track nurse locations for
emergency purposes, but also shows where they
are at lunch or when they use the bathroom
– Used to track long-haul trucks to reduce theft and
optimize delivery schedules, but also detects
driving speeds and duration of rest breaks
• Employees often complain of loss of privacy
E-Mail, Blogging, and Web Use
• Some companies block specific sites (e.g. adult
content, sports sites, job search sites, social-network
sites)
• Employees spend time on non-work activities on the
Web
• Concerns over security threats such as viruses and
other malicious software
• Concerns about inappropriate activities by
employees (e.g., harassment, unprofessional
comment)
Evaluating Information
• Expert information or ‘wisdom of the crowd’?
– Daunting amount of information on the web, much
incorrect
– Search engines are replacing librarians, but Web sites are
ranked by popularity, not by expert evaluation
– Search engines give prominent display to party who pay
them
– Wisdom of the crowd - ratings of website by public,
democratic journalism for news
Narrowing the Information Stream
• The Web narrows information streams
• Some critics see the web as significantly encouraging
narrowness and political extremes by making it easy
for people to avoid seeing alternative opinions
• Searching online “puts researchers in touch with
prevailing opinions, but this may accelerate
consensus” and miss less popular but very relevant
work
• People are seeing filtered information
– Search engines, social media services personalize results
based on location, past searches, profiles, etc.
Why Models May be Inaccurate
• Why models may not be accurate
– We might not have complete knowledge of the system we
are modeling
– The data describing current conditions or characteristics
may be incomplete or inaccurate
– Computing power inadequate for the complexity of the
model
– It is difficult, if not impossible, to numerically quantify
variables that represent human values and choices
• Ethical responsibility of professionals/modelers to
honestly and accurately describe the results,
assumptions, and limitations of their models
Neo-Luddite Views of Technology
• Computers eliminate jobs to reduce cost of
production
• Computers manufacture needs; technology causes
production of things we do not need
• Computers cause social inequity
Neo-Luddite Views of Technology
• Weaken communities, thwart development of social
skills
• Computers separate humans from nature and
destroy the environment
• Benefit big business and big government the most
• Do little or nothing to solve real problems
Failures and Errors in Computer Systems
• Most computer applications are so complex it is virtually
impossible to produce programs with no errors
• The cause of failure is often more than one factor
– Faulty design, sloppy implementation, careless users, poor user
interface, insufficient user training…
• Design and testing of mission critical systems is much
more complex than typical computer-based systems
• Computer professionals must study failures to learn how
to avoid them, and to understand the impacts of poor
work
System Failures
• AT&T, Galaxy IV satellite, Amtrak
• Businesses have gone bankrupt after spending huge
amounts on computer systems that failed
• Voting systems in presidential elections
• Stalled airports: Denver, Hong Kong, Malaysia
• Abandoned systems
– Systems discarded after wasting millions even billions of dollars
• Legacy systems
– Reliable but inflexible, expensive to replace, little documentation
Denver Airport
• Baggage handling system costs ~ $200 million,
caused most of the delay
• Baggage system failed due to real world problems,
problems in other systems and software errors
– Carts crashed into each other at track intersections,
mistaken route. Scanner got dirty or knocked out of
alignment, faulty latches, power surges
• Main causes:
– Time allowed for development was insufficient
– Denver made significant changes in specifications after
the project began
High-level, management-related causes
of computer-system failures
• Lack of clear, well thought out goals and specifications
• Poor management decisions and poor communication
among customers, designers, programmers, etc.
• Institutional and political pressures that encourage
unrealistically low bids, low budget requests, and
underestimates of time requirements
• Use of very new technology, with unknown reliability and
problems
• Refusal to recognize or admit a project is in trouble
Case Study: The Therac-25
Therac-25 Radiation Overdoses:
• Therac-25: a software controlled radiation therapy
machine used to treat cancer patients
• 1985-1987, 4 medical centers
• Massive overdoses of radiation were given; the
machine said no dose had been administered at all
• Caused severe and painful injuries and the death of
three patients
• Important to study to avoid repeating errors
• Manufacturer, computer programmer, and
hospitals/clinics all have some responsibility
Case Study: The Therac-25 (cont.)
Software and Design problems:
• Re-used software from older systems, unaware of
bugs in previous software
• Weaknesses in design of operator interface
– Obscure error messages with no documentation on them
• Inadequate test plan
• Bugs in software
– Allowed beam to deploy when table not in proper
position
– Ignored changes and corrections operators made
at console
What is "Professional Ethics"?
• Professional ethics includes relationships with and
responsibilities toward customers, clients, coworkers,
employees, employers, others who use one’s
products and services, and others whom they affect
• A professional has a responsibility to act ethically
• Many professions have a code of ethics that
professionals are expected to abide by
– Medical doctors, Lawyers and judges, Accountants
• Honesty is one of the most fundamental ethical
values; however, many ethical problems are more
subtle than the choice of being honest or dishonest
Why Professional Ethics?
• Because of some special aspects
– Professional is an expert in a field that most customers
know little about
• Customers have little ability to protect themselves,
they rely on the knowledge, expertise, and honesty of
the professional
• This is regardless of whether they are the direct or
indirect customers of the product
– Products of many professionals (e.g., Highway bridges,
investment advice, surgery protocols, computer systems)
profoundly affect large number of people
– Professionals must maintain up to date skills and
knowledge
Professional Codes of Ethics
• Codes of two main computer professional orgs
– ACM code of ethics and professional conduct
ACM: Association of Computer Machinery
– Software engineering (SE) code of ethics and professional
practice
IEEE-CS: Inst. for Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Computer Society
The SE Code (8 Principles)
1. Public: shall act consistently with the public interest
2. Client and employer: act in the best interest
3. Product: ensure to meet the highest standards
possible
4. Judgment: maintain integrity and independence
The SE Code (8 Principles)
1. Management: ethical in management of software
development and maintenance
2. Profession: advance the integrity and reputation
3. Colleagues: be fair to and supportive of their
colleagues
4. Self: participate in lifelong learning in their
profession
Total: 80 clauses
The ACM Code (24 Imperatives)
• General moral imperatives: as an ACM member, I will
–
–
–
–
–
–
Contribute to society and human well-being
Avoid harm to others
Be honest and trustworthy
Be fair and take action not to discriminate
Honor property rights including copyrights, patents
Give proper credit for IP (must not take credit for other’s
idea or work)
– Respect the privacy of others
– Honor confidentiality
The ACM Code (cont’d)
• More specific professional responsibilities
– Acquire and maintain professional competence,
– Know and respect existing laws,
– Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities, …
• Organizational leadership imperatives
– Articulate social responsibilities, encourage their full acceptance
– Manage to design & build systems that enhance quality of life, …
• Compliance with the code
– Uphold and promote the principles of this code, …