Data Protection
With the advantages of a digital world come its consequences. We can easily manipulate data available to us including sensitive information. Therefore, we must create legal provisions to avoid misuse of data.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Intellectual property is the ownership of a creation of the mind for example an invention or any other literary and artistic expression, design or symbol. As a result, appropriate credit is given to creators.
Copyright:
* Copyrights give legal rights to creators for their original creations like articles, photographs, videos, software, etc.
* Copyrights are automatically given to creators. Laws give copyright holders certain rights which only they can use in a legal situation. These include the right to reproduction of work, right to derivatives, right to display and right to distribute.
* For example, if I write a book, I hold the copyrights to that book, which are guaranteed by law.
Patent:
* A patent is primarily used for inventions.
* patents are only granted once an application for one has been approved.
* These give owners full control over how their invention can be used.
* Patents protect inventions for 20 years after which they can be used freely.
Trademark:
* These are visual symbols, names, designs, etc. which are identifiers of a particular brand or organization.
* Only the company who owns the trademark can use it.
* It also applies to similar words and phrases
Intellectual Property Rights Violations
Plagiarism:
* Presenting someone else’s ideas as your own without proper attribution is known as plagiarism.
* Deriving an idea or product from an existing one is also a form of plagiarism.
* To avoid plagiarizing someone’s work, make sure to cite it.
Copyright Infringement:
* Using someone else’s work without a proper license is known as copyright infringement.
* If someone uses materials which are not permitted for free usage, then using the image even with attribution is a violation of copyright.
* While using materials from the internet, make sure to check their copyright status.
Trademark Infringement:
* The unauthorized use of a trademark.
* Owner of the trademark can take legal action against trademark infringement.
Public Access and Open Source Software
* Some licenses allow the general public to modify the contents and collaborate.
* Public licenses allow others to use and modify the content
* Open source licenses allow others to modify and use resources without requiring individual authorization.
Types of public licenses:
GNU General Public License (GPL):
This license is used as a public license for free software. This allows users to modify software and get regular updates on it.
Creative Commons (CC):
This license allows copyrighted work to be distributed freely. Creators use this when they want others to add to their work
* Companies distributing GPL licenses may charge for it or give it for free.
* Freeware licenses like those of Skype allow people to download a copy but not use for commercial gains.
* Proprietary licenses for paid software give ownership right to creators and prevent users from accessing the source code.
* Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has many users and developers who add new features and improve existing ones.
* The unauthorized use and distribution of software is known as software piracy. Without permission, you are not allowed to distribute copies of the software, even if you have paid for a copy
