Lecture 4

Infringement of Copyright Software Licensing & types

Infringement of Copyright
When is a work infringed? Copyright is said to be infringed when one of the exclusive rights of an author is performed by a party without the consent or authorization of the author. This infringement is called primary infringement. Providing accessories for infringing the exclusive rights or assisting in the making or distribution of infringing copies is also treated as an infringement and is referred to as secondary infringement.

Infringement of Copyright (cont)

Making temporary copies: Browsing of the Internet creates temporary copies of web pages on the cache of a computer. Until 2003, such temporary copies were considered as infringing copies.

Software Licensing
Software licensing comprises the permissions, rights and restrictions on software. Under a software license, the licensee is permitted to use the licensed software in compliance with the specific terms of the license. If there is a breach of the license, depending on the license it may result in termination of the license, and potentially the right of the owner to sue.

Freeware
Means software is totally free and there is no cost on purchasing the license. You would think that this must be OK - but it often is not. You always need to verify that whatever you plan to use it for fits the license terms. An important point to remember is that freeware is almost always unsupported and so if something goes wrong you are "on your own". Always view the word FREE with suspicion!

Shareware
Usually this means that the product is made available for evaluation, either from a CD or a download from the internet. Shareware comes with a license usually for the specific purpose of testing the product to see if you want to buy it. Some shareware is restricted by the software itself to a certain number of days or uses and in some cases functionality is restricted to discourage illegal use. The classic example here is WINZIP - the download of this evaluation software is widely encouraged from websites.

Demo
Allows user to use few components or having limited access to software components but it is mostly for unlimited time period. Generally these are less of a problem as they usually have highly restricted functionality allowing you to look at the product but not really fully use it.

Full Package
Full package or Full version software, that includes complete software to use. Generally speaking most products have a license to install the software on one computer at a time and with some companies your license may not be valid for use until you have registered it with them. Some companies (though thankfully these are few) even restrict you from passing the license on to someone else when you have finished with it. If you transfer software from one computer to another then you should remove it from the first one before installing it on another. Some companies allow you specifically to install a second copy so you can, for example use the product both at home and at work or on a laptop.

Upgrade
Upgrades are often available and are designed to encourage you, or "make it easier for you", to upgrade to the latest version of a product you already own. Frequently what you get when you buy an upgrade is a completely new software installation but to install an upgrade you must legally own the relevant software in the first place. Some software installations check this automatically, while some companies ask you to provide proves of owning the earlier version however many more simply take it on trust. You may pay 80 say for an upgrade to XYZ version 2 but if you didn't already own XYZ version 1 the installation will be illegal. Generally installing an upgrade implies that you will no longer be using the original version - remember you only have one license so passing the old disc to your children etc would be illegal.

Open source
You sometimes see "open source" software (e.g. Linux) which generally means that you are allowed to open the source code and make changes to the way the package works and maybe incorporate it into your own software. "Open source" does not always equal FREE. You may have to purchase the right to use and/or adapt the software and there may be restrictions on what parts of a package are open source and which are not.

Concurrent License
This is really something for network distributed software. Some companies will for example allow us to buy 50 concurrent licenses and make them available to all network users but with a restriction in place so that no more than 50 people can use the software any one time - if 50 people are using the software then the 51st person is denied access until one of the previous 50 exit the software. We use this whenever practicable as it is a very cost effective way of sharing software. The responsibility for restricting the number of users lies with us.

Site License
For widely used software (such as MS Office) this usually represents good value - for an annual payment usually calculated on staff or student numbers - everyone on campus is allowed to install and use the software. Such agreements normally allow you to upgrade free of charge during the life of the agreement and although the annual cost seems high it usually represents a substantial saving over other licensing methods.

Enforcement Principles Fast Enforcement decisions must be made quickly, decisively and clearly Prompt decisions reduce uncertainty, deter (prevent) future violations, and allow businesses to resume their activities and consumers to resolve their complaints Firm Regulators should have enough sanctioning (approval, permitting, authorizing) power to compel licensees to follow the rules Enforcement actions should be consistent and severe enough to deter (prevent) violation.

 Fair Enforcement action should be based on sufficient evidence and objective facts, and allow for proper defense to ensure due process Process should be transparent, objective and impartial (neutral, fair). Flexible Severity (strictness) of the punishment should be flexible and varied to match the severity of the violation Regulator should have other means apart from official court case or regulatory negotiation to enforce compliance (i.e., alternative dispute resolution).