CHAPTER TWO

Creativity: Employer and Employee Rights

in IT matters
o Employment law covers all rights and obligations within the
employer-employee r/ship.
o Because of the complexity of employment r/ships
employment law involves
o legal issues as diverse as discrimination,
o wrongful termination,
o wages and taxation and
o workplace safety.
o It governed by applicable federal and state law.
o The r/ship is based on a valid contract, state contract law
alone may dictate the rights and duties of the parties.

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2.1. Relationships between IT Workers and
IT Users
o The term IT user distinguishes the person who uses a HW or
SW product from the IT workers who are:
 Develop the software
 Install the software
 Service and support the product.
o IT users need the product to deliver organizational benefits or
to increase their productivity.
o IT workers have a duty to understand a user’s need to meet
those business objectives, budget and time constraints.
o It have a key responsibility to
o Minimizes the inappropriate use of corporate computing
resources and
o Avoids the inappropriate sharing of information.
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2.2. Relationships between IT Workers and Society
o Regulatory laws establish safety standards for products and
services to protect the public.
o Professionals can clearly see what effect their work will have
and can take action to eliminate potential public risks.
o Society expects members of a profession to provide
significant benefits and not cause harm through their actions.
o Sometimes the actions of an IT worker can affect society.
For example, a systems analyst may design a computer-based
control system to monitor a chemical manufacturing process. A
failure or an error in the system may put workers or residents
near the plant at risk.

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Cont’s…
o As a result, IT workers have a relationship with society
members who may be affected by their actions.
 However, no formally organized body of IT workers that
takes responsibility to protect the public risks.
o One approach to meeting this expectation is:
o To establish and maintain professional standards that
protect the public.

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 2.3. Relationships between IT Workers and
Suppliers
o IT workers deal with many different hardware,
software, and service providers.
o Most IT workers understand that building a good
working relationship with suppliers.
oIt encourages the flow of useful communication
as well as the sharing of ideas.
o Such information can lead to:
oInnovative and
oCost-effective ways of using the supplier’s
products and services.

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 2.4. Professional Ethics
o Professionals are employees of a certain status, who are
expected , within limits, to put the interests of the
organization.
o To describe someone as a ‘real professional’ implies that they
can be relied on to carry out their work competently and
conscientiously regardless of the circumstances.
o Ethics in Moral philosophy it defined as:
o Determining rights and wrongs, selecting actions to
achieve good results, evaluating motives.

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Cont’s…
o Computer ethics is a branch of practical philosophy that
deals with:
o How computing professionals should make decisions
regarding professional and social conduct.
o There are three primary influences:
1. An individual’s own personal code
2. Any informal code of ethical behavior existing in the
work place
3. Exposure to formal codes of ethics

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Why Ethics for Organisations?
oA basis for values and visions
oTo motivate employees
oPerhaps demanded by customers
oFor good relationships to stakeholders
oAn overall check on plans
oTo avoid various exposures and risks
oPart of governance
oSustainability

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2.5. Development of Software: Who owns the
Intellectual Property (IP)?
o Intellectual property is a term used to describe works of the
mind such as
art, books, films, formulas, inventions, music, and
processes .
o That are distinct and owned or created by a single person or
group.
o It is a range of intangible rights of ownership in an asset.
o Also it is a type of “natural right” that is granted to an
individuals for the products that result from their labor.
o If these assets are not protected, other companies can copy or
steal them, resulting in significant loss of revenue and
competitive advantage.

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Cont’s…
o The law provides d/t methods for protecting these rights of
ownership based on their type.
o There are essentially four types of IP rights relevant to
software:
1. Patents
2. Copyrights
3. Trade secrets
4. Trademarks
o Each affords a different type of legal protection.

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Cont’s…
o IP is an umbrella term for various types of right individuals
or businesses can have in their:
 Names
 Creative Works and
 Inventions
o Software developers need a solid understanding of their
rights to
 Develop and protect a brand;
 Ensure exclusive ownership of their creations and
 Keep their work confidential to create and maintain an
advantage in this competitive market.

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 1. Patents – Software
o A patent is a grant of a property right issued by the US
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to an inventor.
o A patent permits its owner to
oExclude the public from making,
oUsing or selling a protected invention and
oIt allows for legal action against violators.
o It prevents independent creation as well as copying.
o Even if someone else invents the same item independently
and with no prior knowledge of the patent holder’s
invention, the second inventor is excluded from using the
patented device without permission of the original patent
holder.

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Cont’s…
o A patent entitles an Inventor to exclude others from
making, using or selling the claimed invention for a period
of 20 years.
o To obtain a patent, your software or algorithm must have
oA very high level of originality and
oYou must disclose the “recipe” for your invention to the
public.

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Cont’s…
o The main body of law that governs patents rights is
contained in Title 35 of the U.S. Code.
o It states that an invention must pass the following
four tests to be eligible for a patent:

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Cont’s…
i. It must fall into one of five legal classes of items that can
be patented:
o Processes
o Machines
o Manufactures (such as objects made by humans or
machines)
o Compositions of matter (such as chemical compounds)
o New uses in any of the previous four classes.
ii. It must be useful.
iii. It must be novel.
iv. It must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in
the same field.

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 2. Copyrights – Software
o Is the exclusive rights to distribute, display, perform, or
reproduce an original work in copies to prepare derivative
works based on the work.
o Its protection is granted to the creators of
“Original works of authorship in any tangible medium of
expression, now known or later developed, from which they
can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated,
either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
o The author may grant this exclusive right to others.

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Cont’s….
a. Eligible Works: The types of work that can be copyrighted
include:
o Architecture, art, audiovisual works, drama and other
intellectual works.
o It also includes new technologies; thus, software, video
games, multimedia works, and Web pages can all be
protected.
o To be eligible for a copyright, a work must fall within one of
the preceding categories and it must be original.

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 b. Software Copyright Protection
o The use of copyrights to protect computer SW raises many
complicated issues of interpretation.
 For example, a SW manufacturer can observe the operation
of a competitor’s copyrighted program and then create a
program that accomplishes the same result and performs in
the same manner.

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 c. Copyright Infringement
o It is a violation of the rights secured by the owner of a
copyright.
o Infringement occurs when someone copies a substantial and
material part of another has copyrighted work without
permission.
d. Fair Use Doctrine
o Copyright law tries to strike a balance between protecting
an author’s rights and enabling public access to
copyrighted works.
o It was developed over the years as courts worked to
maintain that balance.
o It allows portions of copyrighted materials to be used
without permission under certain circumstances.

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Cont’s…
o Title 17, section 107, of the U.S. Code established four
factors that courts should consider when deciding whether a
particular use of copyrighted property is fair and can be
allowed without penalty:
 The purpose and character of the use (commercial use or
nonprofit, educational purposes)
 The nature of the copyrighted work
 The portion of the copyrighted work used in relation to
the work as a whole
 The effect of the use on the value of the copyrighted
work.

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Cont’s…
 The key difference between a patent and a copyright is that
patent rights can protect you from people who try to imitate
your software.
3. Trade secret
o It is defined as business information that represents something
of economic value, has required effort or cost to develop, has
some degree of uniqueness or novelty, is generally unknown
to the public, and is kept confidential.
o Its protection begins by identifying all the information that
must be:
o Protected from undisclosed patent applications to market
research and business plans and
o Developing a comprehensive strategy for keeping the
information secure.

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Cont’s…
o Trade secret law protects only against the misappropriation of
trade secrets.
o Its law has several key advantages over the use of patents and
copyrights in protecting companies from losing control of
their intellectual property, as summarized in the following
list:
1. There are no time limitations on the protection of trade
secrets, as there are with patents and copyrights.
2. There is no need to file an application, make disclosures
to any person or agency, or disclose a trade secret to
outsiders to gain protection.

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Cont’s…
3. While patents can be ruled invalid by the courts, meaning
that the affected inventions no longer have patent protection,
this risk does not exist for trade secrets.
4. No filing or application fees are required to protect a trade
secret.
4. Trademarking the Software & Company Name (Domain
Name)
◦ A trademark distinguishes one person’s goods or services
from those of another.
◦ The rights exist either via common law or by registration.
◦ It is used to protect your company name or product name,
domain names, images, symbols, logos, slogans, colors,
product designs and product packaging.

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Cont’s…
o Registering your trademark will help you prevent others from
using your mark in a way that might confuse customers or
damage your business reputation.
• A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device used to
indicate the source of goods or services.
 Registered Trademarks are always renewable in periods of 10
years.
 Domain Names: DNS is used instead of IP numbers. Generic
Top Level Domain (GTLD) are ones such as
 .com
 .net .
 org +,
 .info etc.

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 2.6. Reasonable Limitations On IP Ownership by
An Employee
 Patents
 A couple applicable limitation to this general rule under the
common law:
 Employer–Specified Inventions – Inventions made by
an employee at the employer’s request and expense, and
which are considered as a property of employer.
 Shop Right Rule – An employer is not entitled to
ownership of the invention but retains a nonexclusive
right, akin to a license, to make use of the invention.

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Cont’s…
 Copyrights
◦ A form of protection provided by the laws to the Authors
of original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic,
musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.
◦ The Author of a work owns the copyright unless:
 There is a written agreement assigning the copyright to
someone else or the work was “made for rental.” A
“work made for hire”.

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 2.7.The Nature of Digital Reliability and
Failure
Types
 A fault at the HW or SW component
 Defect for HW technology
 Bug for SW technology
Nature
◦ HW fault: defect within a HW component
◦ SW fault: bug within a SW module

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Cont’s…
Duration
1. Permanent fault (static/hard faults) : remains active for a
significant period of time (eg: damaged or incorrectly
implemented component)
2. Temporary fault (dynamic/soft faults)
o Transient fault: appears for a very short period and
disappears (eg: soft error)
o Intermittent (periodic) fault: appears, disappears, and
reappears.

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Cont’s….
Origin
 Where
o Internal fault: origin of the fault is product itself (eg:
incorrectly designed component)
o External fault: the fault results from user or environments
(eg: operator mistakes or soft error)
 When
o Creation: origin of the cause to faults is during
specification, design, and production
o Operation: faults occur at regular operation

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 2.8.SW and HW Representation and Risk
Communication – Who is responsible?
o Providing appropriate SW and HW utilization in the
workplace contribute advantages to both employee and
employer.
o Inappropriate utilization could compromise productivity
of an employee and employer or the company as a whole.
o The responsibility lies on both, the employee and the
employer.
o There should be proper and appropriate communication
and usage of its technologies suited to the workplace.

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2.9. From Medical Software to “Star Wars” and
The Complexity of Computer Systems
o The implementation of software technology advancement in
the field of medical areas is
o Vital on its utilization in generating
o Providing reliable information to its patience and the
credibility of the medical institution as a whole.
Workers in the medical areas are responsible in providing
accurate and informative information based on specific
findings through complete analysis.

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2.10. Origins of the Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility: What is reasonable reliability
in complex system
◦ Complicated system’s developers should have narrow and
complete knowledge in the development process.
◦ Obtaining consistency in generating accurate information
◦ Designing centralize information.
◦ Accessing rapid information and capable in updating new
information is very much vital.
◦ Address end-users with the proper and complete training
for better accessibility and usability in providing
informative information.

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10Q!!!

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