Chapter 7 - Legal and Social Issues

Copyright(c), 1990, 1995 Fred Cohen - All Rights Reserved

The enormous effect of information technology on society has brought about dramatic changes. These changes have brought great prosperity to some, and great harm to others. Information technology has caused many jobs to be lost and many other jobs to be created. Dramatic changes have occured in the nature of intellectual material, and corresponding changes in the legal system's handling of intellectual material have not kept up. Social behavior in the presence of information systems is dramatically different than in their absence. The distinctions between right and wrong and the concept of property have undergone dramatic revolutions.

Questions

1 - Explain the basic premise of the:

a) Patent
b) Copyright
c) Trade secret

(as defined by US law), giving reason(s) for its existence, and what it is and is not designed to protect against. What is its duration? How is it protected? What rights does it give the holder and the public?

2 - You are an entrepreneur who's small company is working towards marketing your new ULTRA-COMP III IBM compatible (clone) personal computer with your revolutionary new plug-in ultra-fast floating point processor ROM. You have spent considerable money on packaging the product in an attractive compact portable case of a distinctive color and with a distinctive logo. Although the computer runs the MS-DOS operating system, you have developed a new command processor that does everything a command processor should do, and hasn't, up until now. What legal tactics should you use to protect your competitive edge?

3 - Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution states that "The Congress shall have 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." In your opinion, do the patent and copyright laws as we know them fulfill this provision of the Constitution?

4 - The following prototype legal document has many interesting aspects. Discuss the protections provided to the 'lender', the responsibilities of the 'borrower', and the potential effects on those wishing to sue for infringements, when their software is provided to a borrower under this contract.

The borrower of this set of backup floppy disks has requested the loan of these disks for the purpose of MAKING A SINGLE COPY OF THE INFORMATION THEREIN CONTAINED, FOR THE BORROWER'S PERSONAL USE. It is understood by the borrower that ALL OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THESE DISKS IS EITHER IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, OR IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM SIMILAR INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. It is further stated by the borrower that THE PURCHASE OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS SET OF DISKS BY THE BORROWER WOULD HAVE BEEN UNLIKELY IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AND THAT THE BORROWER WAS NOT IN THE MARKET FOR THIS INFORMATION PRIOR TO ITS BEING BORROWED.
The borrower of this set of backup floppy disks agrees that these disks must be returned to the loaner in a reasonable amount of time, and they and THEIR CONTENTS ARE IN NO WAY WARRANTED AGAINST FLAWS EITHER IN CONTENT OR IN WORKMANSHIP. IN ADDITION, THERE IS NO WARRANTY EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO THE SUITABILITY OF THIS INFORMATION FOR ANY PURPOSE, nor is there any right of redistribution either expressed or implied by this loan.
It is further understood that the loan of these disks to the borrower is in no way contingent upon or otherwise related to the purchase of any other goods or equipment that may have been or may in the future be offered by the loaner.
In the event that the borrower of these disks should desire the permanent use of the information therein contained, it is understood that the borrower may, at such time as permanent use is determined desirable, seek to obtain a copy of the information from its source of origin.

5 - Explain the difference between copying a much needed article from a journal in the library for extensive use over a long period of time and copying a much needed program from a disk in the library for extensive use over a long period of time. Is there really a difference? Legally? Morally? What is it?