COPYRIGHTS

WHAT IS COPYRIGHTS

 Copyright is a bundle of rights ascribed to the creator of the work, allowing him or
her to copy, adapt, distribute, or perform/display the work, or allow others to do so.
It's important because it makes it viable to create for a living by protecting the
creators from exploitation.
 Copyright, is an evolving series of intellectual property laws, designed to protect
original works of authorship which includes literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic
works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.
 Copyright does not protect names, titles, common words/phrases facts, ideas,
systems, or methods of operation

WHY ARE COPYRIGHTS IMPORTANT?

IMPORTANCE OF COPYRIGHTS

 Copyright protection allows creators to benefit from their work: only the creator
can copy, adapt, distribute, or perform/display the work, or authorize others to do
so. Under copyright laws you are able to allow others to use your works for a fee, or
you can sell your copyright to others for a larger fee, by using a copyright license.
 Copyright gives recognition and legal rights to works produced by artists, designers,
authors and more, ensuring they receive full credit and payment for their work.
 Promotes the creation of new things and ideas. If the copyrights laws didn't exist,
then some people might not be willing to share their ideas and we would have fewer
new innovations.
 Copyright allows one to ascribe value to (and make money from) an intellectual
property and hard work.
 Copyright also means that a genuine or authorized reproduction will meet the
standards of the original products. Shoddy copies could diminish consumers'
 opinions of the product, and reduce demand for it. Hence it enables the creation of
standardized innovations.
 Since copyright acts as a legal tool, it prevents plagiarism and theft of one’s own
work.
 It supports the country’s economic growth.
 Protects one’s own work. If someone chooses to infringe upon your copyrighted
works, you are granted the right to seek legal action and providing you have
necessary legal evidence (this is where the benefits of copyright registration can
become a highly valuable asset) that you are in fact, sole copyright owner you will
more than likely be awarded financial compensation.

WHY ARE COPYRIGHT LAWS IMPORTANT?

 Copyright laws protect the rights of the author, artist or other originator of a
creative work to control when and how his work can be copied and disseminated,
and it prevents others from appropriating the work without permission.
 Copyright protects the ability of someone to profit from his creative work, but the
protection is not absolute.
 Copyright laws exist to protect our intellectual property. They make it illegal to
reproduce someone else’s expression of ideas or information without permission.
This can include music, images, written words, video, and a variety of other media.

INFRINGEMENT
 Anyone who, without permission of the copyright owner, attempts to copy,
distribute, display, perform or produce a derivative of a copyrighted work, infringes
on the copyright, whether or not the work is registered with the Zimbabwe
Copyright Office or carries a copyright notice.
 Registration and display of the copyright notice carries legal advantages. A
copyright owner can file suit against someone who has infringed on his copyright to
recover damages for loss of sales caused by infringement.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the copying of someone else’s work and passing it off as your own without
giving due credit to the original author. Plagiarism is a growing problems especially in the
academic field and work places. The rapid growth of internet has contributed to an
increase in plagiarism. Sometimes plagiarism s deliberate, while other times it can arise out
of ignorance. It is not a crime get influenced by other peoples’ ideas and thoughts but it’s
important to give credit.
Consequences of Plagiarism
Copying someone else’s work and passing it off as one’s own can come with serious
consequences. Some of these are personal, some are professional and some are legal. These
consequences can vary depending upon how and where the plagiarism occurred.

Plagiarism for Students

Students in high school or college may plagiarize another’s work either unintentionally or
intentionally. Usually, the school sets the penalties for a student who is found to have
plagiarized their work. In cases where the student plagiarized unintentionally through
accident or misunderstanding, then the consequences may be largely up to the teacher.
Perhaps (a) the student will receive no credit for the assignment or will be warned about
further consequences should the tendency to plagiarize continue.

When the plagiarism appears to be intentional, there may be a number of consequences.

These include (b) failing the assignment and having to redo it. Some students may not be
able to recover their grade or may automatically fail a course. Some academic institutions
will (c) suspend a student for plagiarizing. In extreme cases where the student commits
plagiarism on several occasions, (d) they may be dismissed from the school.

Plagiarism for the Professional

When a professional commits plagiarism, the stakes are even higher. Notoriety as a
plagiarist can effectively end a career. (a) The plagiarist may be asked to leave their job or
be fired. When this happens, it can be extremely difficult for the individual to find
employment in the same field. Public figures may receive the heaviest consequences to
their (b) reputation, and may have to retire from public life.

Plagiarism that is egregious enough may also be subject to legal action. When a citation to
source material is omitted, then copyright laws have been violated. (c) The original author
of the work that was plagiarized may have grounds to file a civil suit. Some of these
lawsuits are highly publicized, which can cause further damage to the plagiarist’s
reputation. Moreover, (d) the defendant may be liable for considerable monetary damages
that must be paid to the plaintiff.

Some consequences of plagiarism

 It undermines the whole basis of scholarly academic values, academic standards and
the credibility of awards.
 Demotivates students who see their efforts as being undermined by the unfair
advantage gained by others.
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
 turning in someone else’s work as your own
 copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
 failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
 giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
 changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without
giving credit
 copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your
work, whether you give credit or not

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

Considering the seriousness of the consequences, it’s important to avoid plagiarism at all
costs. Doing so requires vigilance on the part of the writer. This may mean double checking
that all sources are properly cited within a piece, referencing of all the sources used to be
provided in bibliography at the end of a document. While this may consume a great deal of
time, it is a worthwhile endeavor to avoid the academic, legal and professional
consequences that follow an accusation of plagiarism.

Anti-plagiarism Software

The following software are used to detect plagiarism in a document:

1. turn-it-in
2. Viper
SOFTWARE PIRACY
By far, the biggest legal problem affecting the computer industry today is software piracy,
which is the illegal copying or use of programs. Piracy is a huge problem mainly because it
is so easy to do. In most cases, it is no more difficult to steal a program than it is to tape a
music CD that you have borrowed from a friend. Software pirates give up the right to
receive upgrades and technical support, but they gain the use of the program without
paying for it.

Software piracy is defined as:

 Unauthorized copying of software.

 Unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted patented material.
 The production of illegal copies of software.

Consequences of Software piracy

 Piracy harms all software publishers, regardless of their size. Software publishers
spend years developing software for the public to use. A portion of every dollar
spent in purchasing original software is channeled back into research and
development so that better, more advanced software products can be produced.
 Software piracy greatly hinders the development of local software communities. If
software publishers cannot sell their products in the legitimate market, they have no
incentive to continue developing programs. Many software publishers simply won’t
enter markets where the piracy rates are too high, because they will not be able to
recover their development costs. Thus, it hinders innovation.
 Lawsuits for copyright, which may be very costly in terms of reputation and money.
 When you purchase pirated software, your money goes directly into the pockets of
software pirates instead of software developers.
 Software piracy also harms the local and national economies. Fewer legitimate
software sales result in lost tax revenue and decreased employment.
 Loss of business to software companies.
 Spread of viruses.
 Lack of technical support, no connection with supplier upgrades.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOFTWARE PIRACY

There are five basic types of software piracy, and all are damaging both to the software
publisher and to you, the end user. The five basic types of piracy are:
 Soft lifting - This form of piracy occurs when extra copies of a program are made
within an organization for employees to use. It also includes "Disk swapping" among
friends and associates.
 Hard-Disk Loading - Some computer dealers load unauthorized copies of software
onto the hard disks of the computers they offer for sale, as an incentive for an end
user to purchase a computer from that particular dealer.
 Counterfeiting. This is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted software, often
in a form designed to make the product appear legitimate. Software counterfeiting
can be very sophisticated, including significant efforts to replicate packaging, logos,
and anticounterfeiting techniques such as holograms. It can also be unsophisticated,
consisting of inferior or hand-written labels, with disks folded into a plastic bag and
sold on street corners. A recent trend in counterfeiting is the emergence of
compilation CD-ROMs, where numerous unauthorized software publishers’
programs appear on one CD-ROM. In any form, software counterfeiting is very
damaging to both the software developer and legitimate end users.
 Online - This form of piracy occurs when copyrighted software is downloaded to
users connected through a modem to an electronic bulletin board or the Internet
without the express permission of the copyright owner. This should not be confused
with sharing public domain software or providing “shareware.” Shareware is
software that may or may not be copyrighted but is generally offered for little or no
charge by the author for nearly unrestricted use, including copying or sharing with
others. Microsoft distributes promotional products, free software, updates, or
enhancements over bulletin boards or online services, which may or may not be
licensed for use solely with licensed Microsoft products. You should check the EULA
accompanying the product to determine how it can be used.
 License Misuse - This form of piracy occurs when copyrighted software is
distributed outside the restricted legitimate channels it was designed for or the
product is used in ways not allowed in the license agreement. Examples of license
misuse include:
1. Academic product misuse
This form of license misuse occurs when a product that is manufactured, licensed,
and specifically marked for distribution to educational institutions and students at
reduced prices is diverted into normal commercial channels of distribution.
Typically this product will contain a sticker indicating that it is academic product
and for use only by educational institutions.
2. Not for Resale (NFR) product misuse.
Again, this form of license misuse occurs when a product that has been clearly
marked "Not for Resale," and is typically distributed as a promotional or sample
product and is not licensed for normal commercial distribution and use, is diverted
into normal commercial channels of distribution.
 3. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) stand-alone product.

This form of license misuse occurs when OEM version software has been unbundled
from its designated computer system and distributed as a separate, “stand-alone”
product. Microsoft’s agreement with computer manufacturers prohibits them from
distributing Microsoft products in this fashion, i.e. without accompanying computer
hardware. Microsoft products on the retail shelf should never include a line on the
front cover of the User’s Guide that states, “For Distribution Only With New
Computer Hardware.”

4. “Microsoft Easy Fulfillment” (MEF) product misuse.

This form of license misuse occurs when a “Microsoft Easy Fulfillment” (MEF)
product is diverted into normal commercial channels of distribution. The MEF
product may be distributed only to end users who have a Select or Open (MOLP)
license and who order the product in accordance with their license terms. The MEF
product has a sticker on the jewel case identifying the product as “Microsoft Easy
Fulfillment.”

5. Volume licensing misuse.

Volume Licensing enables organizations to acquire the rights to copy and use
specific Microsoft software products with agreements tailored to the number of
products needed at the particular organization. These volume programs offer a
broad range of products and licensing options and reduce administrative overhead
and software management costs. Microsoft offers two types of volume license:

a. Select provides savings for medium and large organizations with significant
volume requirements through forecasting software needs over a two-year
period.
b. Open provides savings for small and medium organizations for licenses of as
few as 20 units of a particular software product, with a simple ordering
process. Misuse under volume licensing occurs when organization copies
software purchased through the volume program on more computers than
specified in their license agreement. Other violations occur when an
organization allows concurrent use of software products (which currently is
offered only as an option under the Select and Open programs) without the
purchase of the option that allows for this concurrent use. User licenses show
users rights to use pieces of software.

The Rules that must be obeyed by users

 It is not legal to make a copy of software, then sell it or give it away to other people
  Software cannot be used on a network unless a network license has been acquired
 Not legal to use coding from software in your own software without permission
 Renting out software without permission is illegal
 It is illegal to use the name of copyrighted software without permission

Ways in which Software is protected from piracy

 Installed software will require a unique reference number

 User will have to accept license agreement
 Holograms are used to indicate software is original
 Software may only run if CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is actually in the drive
 Some software will only run if a memory stick is plugged in USB ports