Legal and Ethical Concerns in Software Engineering

Overview

In this post, we discuss the legal and ethical concerns that arise when sharing and using code in computer science and software engineering.

Popcorn Hacks 1:

  • Legal Concern: What is a legal concern when sharing or using code?
  • Ethical Concern: What is an ethical concern when sharing or using code?

Intellectual Property (IP)

  • Definition: Refers to creations of the mind like inventions, literary works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.
  • Impact of Digital Age on IP:
    • Easier to share, copy, and distribute content.
    • Raises concerns about unauthorized use and ownership.
  • Copyright Protection:
    • Protects original works from unauthorized reproduction or distribution.
    • Copyright is automatic but registration offers additional legal benefits.
    • Violating copyright can lead to fines or legal action.

Other Forms of IP Protection

  • Patents: Protect inventions, giving exclusive rights to inventors.
  • Trademarks: Protect brand names, logos, and slogans.
  • Trade Secrets: Protect confidential business info.

Enforcing IP Rights

  • Measures like licensing agreements and Digital Rights Management (DRM) help enforce IP protection.

Licensing a Repository

  • What is a Software License?
    • A software license defines how others can use, modify, and share your code. Without it, all rights are reserved, meaning no one can legally use your code.
  • Why is Licensing Important?
    • Protects your work while allowing others to use it under specific conditions.
    • Encourages open-source collaboration.
    • Prevents legal issues when sharing code.
    • Without a license, you can’t collaborate effectively.

Open Source vs. Open Access

  • Open Source Software (OSS): Publicly available source code for use, modification, and distribution.
  • Open Access Code: Online research that is freely available with few restrictions on use.

Advantages and Disadvantages

  • Advantages:
    • Open-source encourages collaboration and contribution.
    • Open Access removes restrictions on usage and access.
  • Disadvantages:
    • Open source can be misused for harmful purposes.
    • Open access could expose research to unethical usage.

Open-Source Licenses

| License | Permissions | Restrictions | Common Uses | |—————|—————————————|———————————-|————————————–| | MIT | Free to use, modify, and distribute | No liability or warranty | Web apps, libraries, frameworks | | Apache 2.0| Similar to MIT with patent protection | No liability, include license | Large-scale projects, APIs | | GPL | Free to use, but modifications must be open-source | Can’t make a private version | Software that must stay open-source | | BSD 3-Clause | Free use, modification, sharing | No warranty | Academic projects, software | | Creative Commons (CC0, CC-BY) | Allows creators to define use | Not for software, mainly used for documentation | Documentation, art, books |

Examples of License Use

  • Non-profit Organization: Uses GPL to share and force others to release projects under the same license.
  • Indie Game Developer: Uses MIT to freely distribute and share the project with credit to the original developer.
  • Big Tech Company: Uses Apache 2.0 for patent protection and open-source development.

Popcorn Hacks 2:

You’re building an open-source lyric guessing app. Which license would you choose?

  • MIT: For easy access.
  • GPL: For protection against plagiarism and theft.
  • Apache 2.0: For patent and legal protection.

What is Considered Breaking the Law?

  • Examples of License Violations:
    • Using code without a license.
    • Modifying and distributing GPL code without releasing changes.
    • Removing required license notices.
    • Selling open-source software as your own.
    • Using code with a Non-Commercial license for profit.
    • Copying software without paying for a proprietary license.

Ethical Concerns

Misusing Code

  • Respect for Intellectual Property: Using code without permission disrespects the creator’s rights.
  • Violation of Developer Trust: Open-source relies on community trust; misuse harms this ecosystem.
  • Unfair Advantage: Using unlicensed code gives an unfair edge over others who follow licensing rules.
  • Lack of Attribution: Failing to credit authors is plagiarism.
  • Commercial Exploitation: Profiting from someone else’s work without respecting the license is unethical, even if technically legal.

Supreme Court Case: Google vs. Oracle

  • Oracle claimed Google copied APIs/software.
  • Google argued it was fair use due to licensing rules and the APIs not being subject to copyright.

Plagiarism and Stealing Code

  • What’s Wrong?
    • Removing author credit and claiming code as yours.
    • Copying code from GitHub/Stack Overflow without credit.
    • Selling modified open-source code without permission.
  • What’s Right?
    • Forking a repo and crediting the original author.
    • Adding a comment or README for credit.
    • Following open-source licenses when modifying code.

Real-World Example

The Trump administration’s plan to support U.S.-led AI development based on democratic principles vs. concerns from publishers about tech companies like Google and OpenAI using copyrighted materials for AI models without proper citation or payment.

Homework

  1. Create or Update a Repository with a License
    • Add a license to your repository on GitHub.
    • Explain your choice of license (MIT, GPL, Apache, etc.).
  2. Complete the Google Form
    • Provide links to your repository and explain why you chose that license.
    • Complete a short quiz on the content.

Homework Form