Copyright and the Law

Article I of the U.S. Constitution gives the Congress the power "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." This is the basis of copyright law in the United States, and it includes the justification for copyrights. The basic idea is that by securing an author's right to profit from their work, we can encourage authors to create things.

Copyright applies not just to books, but also to all manner of creative works: drawings, pictures, photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and even computer software. The original creator of these works has the right to dictate who can use them and under what terms. That is why, for example, it is not legal for you to simply make as many copies as you like of a computer program that you have purchased (unless the license for the program grants you that right).

When you are downloading material from the Internet, you need to be aware of any copyright restrictions that might apply to the material. For example, there are many entire books available on the Internet. Some, such as those supplied by Project Gutenberg (http://promo.net/pg/) are explicitly free from copyright restrictions. But some people are not so law- abiding . It is possible to find current, copyrighted books available for download. If you download such a work, you are also violating the author's copyright and breaking the law.

Copyright and Sharing

Understand copyright issues associated with using and distributing materials stored on removable media such as CDs, Zip disks, diskettes.

Computers have made it phenomenally easy to make copies of things. Once a book or magazine article is scanned or typed into a computer, you can make hundreds of copies to CD-ROM, Zip disk, or diskette with little effort. The rise of peer-to-peer file-sharing services has even made this copying possible over the Internet. Thousands of copyrighted works are freely available for download via these services.

However, just because it's possible doesn't mean that it's legal. Sharing a copyrighted work with your friends on CD or via a file-sharing service is no more legal or ethical than making a photocopy and mailing it to them. It is possible that future copyright laws will change somehow to accommodate these problems, but for the moment, that's the legal situation.

Software Licensing

Know how to check the product ID number for a software product. Understand the terms shareware, freeware, end-user license agreement.

Copyright applies to software as well as to books, movies, and music. The creator of a piece of software has the right to determine how (or whether) that software can be shared. The standard practice in the software industry is to license a piece of software to the user under specific circumstances. For example, the user might be permitted to install the software on two computers but no more.

Many software programs assign a unique product ID or license number to legitimate users. Often you can retrieve this number by selecting About from the Help menu of the application. Figure 2.5 shows the license dialog box from a copy of Microsoft Word. Note that it also shows the copyright information for the application.

Figure 2.5. Checking the copyright and license information for a copy of Microsoft Word.

Not every application is subject to restrictive licensing agreements. Some software packages are released as shareware or freeware . A shareware application lets you legally use the software for a period of time, such as 30 days. After that time, you must either send the registration fee to the author or stop using the program. A freeware application is free to use for as long as you like.

The use of most programs is governed by an end-user license agreement , or EULA. It is a legal contract that typically appears when you are installing the software. Normally you are required to click a button to indicate that you agree to the EULA.

Data Protection Legislation

Some countries have explicit laws governing the proper use of computer data. Although the United States doesn't currently have a data protection act, you should know about some of the major legislation in this area.

Data Protection in the United States

Know about data protection legislation or conventions in your country. Understand the implications of data protection legislation for data subjects and data holders. Describe some of the uses of personal data.