1B: software piracy and copyright

Question 1

software piracy meaning

Answer 1

illegal copying + use of software, occurs when intellectual property rights are infringed

Question 2

plagiarism meaning

Answer 2

appropriating/imitating another’s ideas and manner of expressing and claiming them as your own
- when someone passes off someone else’s work as their own

Question 3

copyright laws and their purpose

Answer 3

purpose: safeguard legal intellectual property rights of authors; provides economic incentives for creative activity
- protects expression of ideas rather than ideas themselves

Question 4

current copyright act in australia

Answer 4

The Copyright Act 1968; copyright acts in a particular country are generally enforceable in other countries

Question 5

copyright rights includes…

Answer 5

• right to reproduce copyrighted work
• to make derivative works; appropriations/adaptations
• to distribute to public
• perform certain works in public; music
• display certain works in public; art

Question 6

how long does copyright last

Answer 6

commences upon creation of a work and lasts until the author’s death + 70 years
- exists regardless whether the work has been registered with copyright office, though must be registered before legal proceedings can commence

Question 7

classifications of software under copyright

Answer 7

1. commercial
2. open source
3. shareware
4. public domain
   refer to SDD half-yearly

Question 8

ownership vs licensing

Answer 8

software obtained from outside sources = not owned by user
- software developer/author retains ownership of the product

Question 9

limited use meaning

Answer 9

defining usage allowed of the product; software licenses do not give unrestricted use
- terms defined in license

Question 10

program meaning

Answer 10

refers to computer software; includes both executable files and included data files
- does not include media, but software stored on media

Question 11

reverse engineer meaning

Answer 11

the process of creating source code from a completed product without access to source code

Question 12

decompilation meaning

Answer 12

the process of creating source code from compiled files

Question 13

non-copyable datasheet

Answer 13

users required codes/answers from datasheet to continue using software

Question 14

disk-copy protection

Answer 14

for floppy disks + CD-ROM; some copy-protected disks had data which could not normally be read, so unable to be copied
- all these have been cracked rapidly

Question 15

hardware serial numbers

Answer 15

most hardware components on computers have embedded serial numbers which cannot be altered
- checked by program; if incorrect, program doesn’t run

Question 16

site license installation counter on network

Answer 16

larger organizations: software installed from network server; includes utility which monitors number of installations/simultaneous executions
- ensures site license is not exceeded

Question 17

registration code

Answer 17

used to activate software products during initial stage of installation process
- is unique/shared for single installation + site license

Question 18

how are registration codes generated

Answer 18

• can be done w/ algorithm
• more commonly generated over internet, where software developer will have identifying information from purchaser

Question 19

encryption key

Answer 19

encryption scrambles data/executable code so it is impossible to make sense of
- decryption code: required to reverse encryption process

Question 20

two types of encryption

Answer 20

symmetric key: same key for both encryption + decryption; fast + efficient, for large volume data
asymmetric key: public key for encryption, private key for decryption; for secure communication, digital signature, key exchange

Question 21

back to base authentication

Answer 21

application contacts software publisher’s server to verify whether the user or computer holds valid license
- if correct, program executes