Intellectual Property: "Whose Is It?  And Why?" 
Tackled by Mick Doherty's Technical & Professional Class  

In our most recent class discussions, the subject of Intellectual Property has come up.  This is a topic which is beginning to receive a fair amount of attention now with the recent swell of Internet and Webpage Design/Implementation.  Looking towards the future, we feel that Intellectual Property will become even a greater issue, with the roots of it implanted in many philosophical debates on "Who's Is It?  And Why?".  Where does Intellectual Property play a part in today's world, and what do we think is ethical in these cases?  

Readings & Class Handouts  
  • The distribution of copyrighted material is never acceptable under any circumstance unless accompanied with permission from the article's publisher. 
  • A site we have found that goes into great depth on this application of Intellectual Property is at http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Policies/fairuse.html


    • Publications on the World Wide Web  
  • The copying of part of the format of an existing web page is permissible, as long as there are no copyright provisions in the code or on the web site. In this case, copying is permissible only if credit is given to the web site and/or creator.
  • The content of the web page must be an original representation of the author's views and opinions. As long as the content is unique (not word for word,) paraphrasing someone else's opinion is ethical.
  • Anyone who publishes anything to the web, must understand that the web is public space. Regardless of any expressed consent by the author/publisher, the information can be and probably will be copied directly.


    • E-Mail and Other Textual Communications  
  • If the original sender intended the e-mail to be distributed among the public (i.e.- sending the message to a listserv or public ftp site) then it can be used without the author's knowledge while still referencing it to him/her.
  • Personal Communication can be used but must include references to the author and the date.


    • We echo what the Fall 1996 class of Techpro stated: 
    "We feel that the above guidelines are sufficient for most of what we encounter in our course. Of course, there are always exceptions. Any questionable issues should be looked into. This can be done by viewing on-line resources such as http://www.benedict.com/, consulting a style guide for proper referencing, or seeking professional assistance for more complicated copyright issues". 

    What the Fall 1996 class thought of Intellectual Property
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