Property
Key Terms: property, copyright, intellectual
property
We teach our children not to vandalize property or
to tamper with or damage belongings of others. We need to expand
that to include things we cannot physically hold which includes electronic
information, like data files and software.
You have certainly heard the
word property before:
it is generally used to mean a possession, or more specifically, something
to which the owner has legal rights. You might have also encountered
the phrase intellectual property.
This term has become more commonplace during the past few years, especially
in the context of computer ethics. But what exactly does it refer to?
Intellectual property generally
refers to rights relating to, among others, the following:
1. literary, artistic, and scientific works
2. performances of performing artists, phonograms, and broadcasts
3. inventions in all fields of human endeavor
4. scientific discoveries.
In other words, intellectual property, in the most general sense, encompasses
creations of the human intellect (hence the term itself) and their protection,
usually by copyright.
What then is “copyright”.
Copyright is a form of protection provided by laws to the authors of original
works, otherwise known as the owners of intellectual property
It is widely known that producing photocopies of a textbook, for example, and
distributing them to others is not lawful. No one but the author (or the owner
of the copyright, as the case may be) has the right to make such copies of
the work.
But what of computer programs in the form of software? Is software protected,
just as literary works, from unlawful distribution? Yes! In
fact, computer programs are protected exactly as literary works are protected.
This means that the copyright privileges that literary and artistic works enjoy
extend to computer programs as well.
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Fair
Use in the Electronic Age
http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/fairuse.html
Crash
Course in Copyright
http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm#top
The
Digital Imaging Revolution: Legal Implications and Possible
Solutions
http://www.umassd.edu/Public/People/KAmaral/Thesis/digitalimaging.html