Ben's Game
Property scenario #1
Jerry borrows Ben’s game disks for Monster Truck Rally II and installs them on his home computer. He says he will erase the game if he does not like it, or will buy the game for himself if he likes it.
Questions
- What is the property?
- Who is its owner?
- What danger or discomfort might the unethical action cause?
- Is there a parallel in the physical world to this scenario?
- Is digital media more likely to be unlawfully copied than physical media (books, videotapes, etc.)? Why?
- Can you think of other incidents that would fall into this category?
Comments
Students need to know that computer software is protected by copyright law. It is unlawful, as well as unethical, to make copies of computer programs without permission or payment of the producer of those programs. It also needs to be understood that when purchasing software, one is usually only purchasing the right to use the software. The ownership of the code that comprises the program stays with the producer. This means that one cannot alter the program or resell it. The vast majority of software licenses require that one copy of a program be purchased for each computer on which it is to be run. And no, the inability to pay for software is not a justification for illegal copying anymore than the inability to pay for a book is any justification for shoplifting it from a bookstore.
Quote of note
As children have access to computers earlier and earlier in their educational careers, experts in piracy, hacking, and other forms of Internet mischief say that any effort to tackle the illicit trade in digital good - including video games, computer software, music and even movies - should be looking at a younger crowd.
“By the time we get them, they already believe it’s right,” said David J. Farber, a professor of computer science at the University of Pennsylvania ·
The New York Times, Tuesday, December 25, 2001 .
Doug Johnson
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Reader Comments (3)
Digital media is growing at an alarming rate. The technology industry is soaring. We as educators need to not only let our students know that software is protected by copyright laws, we also need to let the parents of our students become aware of this. All to often the student is only going by what he/she is learning at home. Knowledge is half the battle.
I think that most parents know something about copyright laws if they have ever been to school, but most people do not know all of the copyright laws as to what they can and can not do. As educators we also need to understand the copyright laws so that we can teach our students.
In a court of law, the judge would say that ignorance of the law is not a good excuse for breaking it If you are found guilty of making illegal copies without paying for it, then the penalty for such actions will not be pleasant. As teachers, we need to make sure that our students understand the consequences of their actions.
As technology use increases, it becomes more and more obvious how our youth can easily err by not doing what it is right. They are tempted to break the law by having the digital media so readily available. They do not stop, not even for a moment, to investigate what it is at stake or who gets hurt in the process.
Therefore, it is up to us educators to lead our students away from the path of ignorance. We have to spread the word, in order to create an awareness, by teaching the appropriate way of computer software usage. In turn, society will become more knowledgeable and will witness less copyright offenses.