intellectual property

1. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 1
Lecture – 03
Intellectual Property
Course: Computing Ethics and Society (IT301)
Instructor: Nasser M. AMAITIK (MSc IBSE)
Fall 2011/2012
University of Benghazi
Faculty of Information Technology – Marej
Branch
The lecture material sourced from the following references:
• “Ethics for the Information Age”, Michael J. QUINN, 3rd
(2009)
• “A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet”, Sara BAASE, 3rd
(2008)

2. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 2
What Is Intellectual Property?
• Any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value.
- Books, songs, movies
- Paintings, drawings
- Inventions, chemical formulas, computer programs
• Intellectual property ≠ physical manifestation.
• The intangible creative work, not its particular physical form.
• Value of intelligence and artistic work comes from creativity, ideas,
research, skills, non-material efforts.
• Protected by copyright and patent law.
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

3. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 3
What Is Intellectual Property?
• If two people write same play, both cannot own it  every
intellectual property is one-of-a-kind.
• If one person “takes” another’s play, both have it  copying an
intellectual property is different from stealing a physical object.
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

4. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 4
Protecting Intellectual Property
• Trade secrets.
• Trademarks and service marks.
• Patents
• Copyrights
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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Trade Secret
• Confidential piece of intellectual property that gives company
a competitive advantage.
• Never expires
• Not appropriate for all intellectual properties.
• May be compromised when employees leave firm.
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

6. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 6
Trademark, Service Mark
• Trademark: Identifies goods
• Service mark: Identifies services
• Company can establish a “brand name”
• Does not expire
• If brand name becomes common noun, trademark may be lost
• Companies advertise to protect their trademarks
• Companies also protect trademarks by contacting those who
misuse them
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

7. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 7
Patent
• A public document that provides detailed description of invention
• Provides owner with exclusive right to the invention
• Owner can prevent others from making, using, or selling invention
for 20 years
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

8. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 8
Copyright
• Provides owner of an original work / holders with the following five
exclusive rights:
- Reproduction: To make copies
- Distribution: To distribute copies
- Public display: To display the work in public (e.g. artwork, movies,
computer games, video on a Web site)
- Public performance: To perform the work in public (e.g. music, plays)
- Production of derivative works: To produce derivative works, such as
translations into other languages or
movies based on books
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

9. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 9
Copyright and Changing Technology
• Digital technology and the internet has made copyright infringement
easier and cheaper
• New compression technologies have made copying large files
(e.g. graphics, video and audio files) feasible
• New tools allow us to modify graphics, video and audio files to make
derivative works
• Scanners allow us to change the media of a copyrighted work,
converting printed text, photos, and artwork to electronic form
• Copyright protection has expanded greatly since 1790
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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10. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 10
Copyright and Fair Use Concept
• Sometimes legal to reproduce a copyrighted work without permission
• Courts consider four factors
- Purpose and character of use
- Nature of work
- Amount of work being copied
- Affect on market for work
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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11. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 11
Software Copyrights
• Copyright protection began 1964
• What gets copyrighted?
- Expression of idea, not idea itself
- Object program, not source program
• Companies treat source code as a trade secret
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

12. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 12
Violations of Software Copyrights
• Copying a program to give or sell to someone else
• Preloading a program onto the hard disk of a computer being sold
• Distributing a program over the Internet
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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13. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 13
Software Patents
• Patent protection began in 1981
• Inventions can be patented, but not algorithms
• Patents are not supposed to be given for things that are obvious or
are already in common use
• Patent Office having a hard time determining prior art
• Result: some bad patents have been issued (making mistakes)
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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14. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 14
Open-source and Proprietary Software
• Free software - 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)
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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Consequences of Proprietary Software
• Increasingly harsh measures being taken to enforce copyrights
• Copyrights are not serving their purpose of promoting progress
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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16. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 16
Open-source Software: Definition
• No restrictions preventing others from selling or giving away
software
• Source code included in distribution
• No restrictions preventing others from modifying source code
• No restrictions regarding how people can use software
• Same rights apply to everyone receiving redistributions of the
software
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17. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 17
Beneficial Consequences of Open-source Software
• Gives everyone opportunity to improve program
• New versions of programs appear more frequently
• Eliminates tension between obeying law and helping others
• Programs belong to entire community
• Shifts focus from manufacturing to service
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18. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 18
Examples of Open-source Software
• BIND
• Apache
• Sendmail
• Perl, Python, Ruby, TCL/TK, PHP, Zope
• GNU compilers for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada
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19. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 19
GNU Project and Linux
• GNU Project
- Begun by Richard Stallman in 1984
- Goal: Develop open-source, Unix-like operating system
- Most components developed in late 1980s
• Linux
- Linus Torvalds wrote Unix-like kernel in 1991
- Combined with GNU components to make an O.S.
- Commonly called Linux
• Linux putting pressure on companies selling proprietary versions of Unix
• Linux putting pressure on Microsoft and Apple desktops
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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20. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 20
Critique of the Open-source Software Movement
• Without critical mass of developers, quality can be poor
• Without an “owner,” incompatible versions may arise
• Relatively weak graphical user interface
• Poor mechanism for stimulating innovation (no companies will
spend billions on new programs)
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
L03 – Intellectual Property

21. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 21
Copying and Sharing
Ideas from the Software Industries
- Expiration dates within the software
- Copy protection that prevents copying
- Activation or registration codes
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22. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 22
Copying and Sharing
Digital Rights Management
- Collection of techniques that control uses of intellectual property
in
digital formats
- Includes hardware and software schemes using encryption
- Apple, Microsoft and Sony all use different schemes of DRM
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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23. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 23
Copying and Sharing
Ethical Arguments about Copying
- Unlike physical property, copying or distributing a song, video,
or computer program does not decrease the use or enjoyment
by
another person
- Copying can decrease the economic value of creative work
produced for sale
- The fair use guidelines are useful ethical guidelines
- There are many arguments for and against unauthorized copying
Computing Ethics and Society (IT 301)
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24. Eng. Nasser M. AMAITIK 24
Copying and Sharing
International Piracy
- Some countries do not recognize or protect intellectual property
- Countries that have high piracy rates often do not have a significant
software industry
- Many countries that have a high amount of piracy are exporting the
pirated copies to countries with strict copyright laws
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Thank you for your attention …Thank you for your attention …
Any Question ?Any Question ?