5.5 Legal and Ethical Concerns

Big Idea 5.5

• 3 min read

Big Idea5

Legal & Ethical Concerns

Notes on the Lesson

Intellectual Property (IP)

Definition: Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, including inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce. It grants creators exclusive rights to their work.

Digital Impact on IP:

  • Digitization makes sharing, copying, and distributing content easier.
  • Increased accessibility raises concerns about ownership and unauthorized use.
  • Businesses and individuals must protect digital assets from unauthorized replication or misuse.
  • Safeguards original works such as books, music, films, and digital content.
  • Prevents unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution.
  • Copyright is automatic upon creation; registration provides legal advantages.
  • Infringement may lead to fines or legal action.

Other Forms of IP Protection:

  • Patents: Protect inventions by granting exclusive rights.
  • Trademarks: Safeguard brand names, logos, and slogans.
  • Trade Secrets: Cover confidential business information.

Enforcing IP Rights:

  • Legal measures like licensing agreements and digital rights management (DRM) help control usage.
  • Companies must monitor and enforce rights to prevent infringement.

Licensing a Repository

What is a Software License? A legal agreement defining how others can use, modify, and share code. Without a license, “All Rights Reserved” applies, meaning nobody else can use the code legally.

Why Licensing Matters:

  • Protects work while allowing controlled use.
  • Encourages open-source collaboration with clear rules.
  • Prevents legal issues when using or sharing code.

Open Source & Open Access

  • Open-Source Software (OSS): Publicly available software that anyone can use, modify, and distribute.
  • Open Access Code: Online research with minimal use restrictions.

Advantages:

  • Encourages collaboration and contributions.
  • Open access research removes access barriers.

Disadvantages:

  • Open-source projects can be misused for harmful purposes.

Open-Source Licenses

License Permissions Restrictions Common Uses
MIT Free to use, modify, distribute with credit No liability/warranty Web apps, libraries, frameworks
Apache 2.0 Similar to MIT, includes patent protection Must include license notice Large-scale projects, APIs
GPL Free to use, modifications must be open-source No private versions Software meant to stay open-source
BSD 3-Clause Modify and share freely, even in closed-source projects No warranty Academic projects, software
Creative Commons Defines reuse permissions (rare for code) Not for software, mostly docs/images Documentation, art, books
Action Reasoning License Violated
Using code without a license Default is “All Rights Reserved” Any repo without a license
Modifying & distributing GPL code without releasing changes GPL requires derivative works to be open-source GPL
Removing a required license notice Some licenses require keeping copyright notice MIT, Apache, GPL
Selling open-source software without permission Must follow license terms GPL, Apache 2.0, CC
Using code with a Non-Commercial (NC) license for profit Some licenses prohibit commercial use Creative Commons NC
Copying proprietary software without payment Paid licenses required All proprietary software

Ethical Concerns

  • Respect for IP: Unauthorized code usage disrespects creators’ rights.
  • Developer Trust Violation: Open-source relies on community trust.
  • Unfair Advantage: Using unlicensed code creates unfair competition.
  • Lack of Attribution: Not crediting original authors is plagiarism.
  • Commercial Exploitation: Profiting from work without following license terms is unethical.

Real-World Case: Google vs. Oracle

Oracle claimed Google copied APIs, while Google argued fair use due to licensing and API rules.

Hacks

Popcorn Hacks 1

  1. What is a legal concern when sharing/using code?
    • Unauthorized usage or infringement of intellectual property rights.
  2. What is an ethical concern when sharing/using code?
    • Failing to give credit to original developers.

Popcorn Hacks 2

Scenario: You’re building an open-source lyric-guessing app. You want it to spread fast, but also prevent big corporations from stealing your work. Which license do you pick?

I think they could all work as:

  • MIT: Easiest to access but allows corporations to take without restrictions.
  • GPL: Forces modifications to remain open-source, preventing corporate misuse.
  • Apache 2.0: Adds patent protections, making legal disputes easier to manage.

Homework

  1. Add a license to your repo (or change an existing one) and explain your choice.
    • Steps:
      • Go to GitHub repo → “Add file” → “Create new file”.
      • Name it LICENSE.
      • Click “Choose a license template” and select one.
      • Commit the file.

        COMPLETED