Protecting Programs and Data

Copyrights
designed to protect the expression of ideas applies to a creative work such as a story and song. intended to allow regular and free exchange of ideas must apply to an original work and it must be in some tangible medium of expression to cover works in the arts, literature and written scholarship

Patents
applies to the result of science, technology and engineering can protect a “new and useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter” designed to protect the device or process for carrying out an idea, not the idea itself

Trade Secret
must be kept a secret the owner must protect the secret by any means, such as by storing it in a safe, encrypting it and by making employees sign a statement that they will not disclose the secret trade secret protection can also vanish through reverse engineering

Information and The Law
Information as an Object not depletable
Information can be sold again and again without depleting stock or diminishing quality
Information has the value not the medium can be replicated
Can use the information and sell it many times minimal margin cost
The cost to produce another one after having produced others is small value is timely
The value of information often depends on when you know it often transferred intangibly
Information is being delivered as bits on a cable

Legal Issues Related to Information
Database
Problem:
Difficult to determine that a set of data came from a particular database so that the database can claim compensation electronic commerce
Goods are ordered electronically
Technical protection available:
Digital signatures and other cryptographic protocols
Problem:
How to prove conditions of delivery

Rights of Employees and Employers ownership of a patent
The person who owns a work under patent and copyright law is inventor (producer)
ownership of a copyright

Similar to ownership of a patent
The programmer is the presumed owner of the work
The owner has all rights to an object work for hire
The employer is considered the author of a work not the employee

Licenses
An alternative to ‘work for hire’ arrangement
Programmer develops and retain full ownership of the software
The programmer grants a license to a company to use the program

License can be:
For a copy or unlimited copies
To be used at one location or many etc
trade secret protection Trade secret is not registered
The ownership must be established
The information as confidential data

employment contracts
Will express the rights of ownership
Specifies:
The employee is hired to work as a programmer exclusively for the benefit of the company
The company states that it is a work for hire situation
The company claims all rights to any programs developed including all copyrights and the right to market
The employee receives access to certain trade secrets as a part of employment and the employees agrees not to reveal those secrets
Sometimes an agreement not to compute is included such as the employee is not to compete by working in the same field for a set period of time after termination