Copyright Violation and Prevention
* Lesson 5 - COMPUTER ETHICS 5.2 - COPYRIGHT VIOLATION AND
PREVENTION [1] Copyright Violation and Prevention
When you use copyrighted intellectual property without the owner's
consent, it leads to copyright violation. When you copy someone's work and
use it as if it is your own work, without mentioning the source, it is
known as _plagiarism_. Suppose you create an exact copy of a graphic
displayed on a Web site. You then post this graphic to another Web site as
your own creation, but do not mention about the Web site from where you
copied it. This results in plagiarism.
In many countries, paraphrasing an existing work and passing it off as an
original work is also considered as plagiarism. The following table
explains some of the common misuses of copyrighted material that you need
to be aware of and avoid. Scroll down to read each description.
Copying music
Be aware of the following situations to avoid software piracy:
* When you download copyrighted software from a Web site without the
owner's permission or without paying a fee, it results in software piracy.
* When you buy a legal copy of software, create copies of the software,
and distribute the copies to others, it also results in software piracy.
* Some computer vendors install unlicensed copies of software on the
computers that they sell. They do this to save on the license fees.
However, purchasing computers with unlicensed software results in software
piracy. Therefore, while purchasing a computer, ensure that you have the
license documents for the software preinstalled on the computer or sold
with the computer.
[Copying music]
Using software without license
Be aware of the following situations to avoid software piracy:
* When you download copyrighted software from a Web site without the
owner's permission or without paying a fee, it results in software piracy.
* When you buy a legal copy of software, create copies of the software,
and distribute the copies to others, it also results in software piracy.
* Some computer vendors install unlicensed copies of software on the
computers that they sell. They do this to save on the license fees.
However, purchasing computers with unlicensed software results in software
piracy. Therefore, while purchasing a computer, ensure that you have the
license documents for the software preinstalled on the computer or sold
with the computer.
[Using software without license]
Copying logo
A logo is a copyrighted material that is used as an identifier by its
copyright owner. It is illegal to copy or use a logo without the owner's
permission. For example, using the Microsoft logo on your business card
without obtaining permission from Microsoft is a copyright
violation.Sometimes, a person may have the permission to use a logo, but
there may be limitations to this usage. For example, a person may have the
permission to use the Microsoft logo only when making business dealings on
behalf of Microsoft. Now, if the person uses the Microsoft logo to make
business dealings for personal gains, then it is a misuse of the
copyrighted logo.
[Copying logo]
Click to view and print a job aid to learn about some legal concerns with
copyright laws and how you can legally use copyrighted material. [2]
