ICT PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS AND
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY LAWS
*Intellectual property has a long history, going back to ancient Greece, where the beginning of
trademarks emerged. The precursor to patents dates back to Renaissance Italy but the first
patent was not issued until 1449, to John of Utynam. The first American patent was granted in
1790 to Samuel Hopkins. Current American laws protecting intellectual property are rooted in
the English Statue of Monopolies (1624), and the statue of Anne (1710). The U.S constitution
(1787) contains a copyright provision which deals with intellectual property rights, but the
Copyright Act was not implemented until 1790. Several court cases involving copyrights
changed how the law was enforced and the Copyright Act was revised in 1831, 1870, 1909 and
1976. For a long time, the law governing copyright dealt with printed material, but with the
emergence of software programming, the Copyright Act had to be amended on several
occasions. The invention of numerous new technologies and the creation of the Internet and the
World Wide Web lead to novel intellectual property issues. As a result, the laws governing
intellectual property had to change.
*Intellectual property is defined as any work that is creative and includes inventions,
literary works, images, and symbols. With the introduction of the Internet, laws
surrounding intellectual properties have changed significantly. The three types of
laws that protect intellectual property are copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
*Unlike conventional property, like physical objects or land, intellectual property is
often intangible because it concerns creations of the mind.
*There are three main arguments in favor of the right to own property. In the natural
rights argument, John Locke argues that a person owns the rights to the fruits of his/her
labor, specifically because he/she worked for it. The utilitarian argument proposes that
society as a whole is better off when we have rights and institutions governing property.
*Hegel’s personality argument says that property laws frees people to express their
unique personalities. Most laws concerning intellectual property exist to promote
“progress”. The right to intellectual property motivates innovation and creativity.
Intellectual property assets can sometimes be worth more money than physical assets,
which means they are worth protecting just like physical asset. Creation of economic
growth and wealth is also a reason for the benefit of intellectual property.
*The copyright itself is a legal form of protection that is given to the author (could be an
organization, individual, and group of individuals). In order to meet the requirements for
copyright protection, the authors of the software have to prove that the program contains an
original expression of ideas. Ideas themselves could not be a subject to copyright protection.
Copyright gives the author, or the owner of the subject exclusive right to

• Copy work
• Prepare derivative works based on the original work
• Distribute copies of the work in the public place, or transfer ownership by rental, lease, and
land
• Perform the work publicly
• Display the work publicly
PATENTS

• Patents are protection for any invention whether it be a product or

process in the field of technology. Patents not only prevent independent
creation but also copying. If two people invent the same item, the first
person to file the patent has exclusive rights to the product, while the
other person must ask the patent holder for permission to use the
original patent. Patent infringement is the violation of the rights secured
by the owner of a patent, when someone makes an unauthorized use
of anthers patent.
TRADEMARK

• A trademark is a recognizable symbol, word, phrase, logo, design, or a combination of these

things registered legally to differentiate one company’s products or services from another’s. The
main purpose of a trademark is to make products or services of the particular company
recognizable to the public
TRADE SECRETS

• Trade secrets and any other information with commercial value must be protected
against breach of confidence and other dishonest act. Although they are protected
companies must take reasonable steps to protect this information. In order to properly
protect trade secrets companies must have a comprehensive strategy for keeping the
information secure. Employees may disclose trade secrets or steal them for financial
gain. Organizations must educate employees the importance of secrecy.