Social, Ethical, and Professional Aspects of Intellectual Property - Coursework Example

BIS3328 Social, Professional and Ethical Issues in Information Systems Social, Ethical, and Professional Aspects of Intellectual Property Introduction In this time of technological progress all over the world, concerns regarding the possessions and ownership are also increasing and protection of intellectual property is one of such concerns. “Intellectual property, sometimes abbreviated IP, is a legal definition of ideas, inventions, artistic works and other commercially viable products created out of ones own mental processes” (Pollick 2011). Intellectual property has a lot of depth in its definition. It ranges from just an idea in the mind of a person to a product or asset that an employee creates for his/her company. In industrial or organizational settings, an interesting fact regarding intellectual property is that it does not belong to the person who invents it; rather it becomes the possession of the company for whom it was created. For example, a symbol created by a team of designers for a company will become the intellectual property of the company instead of the designers. Intellectual property is considered a very precious thing for any person or a company. In case of personal intellectual property, the ownership does not transfer .e.g. the author of a book retains his/her intellectual property for that book for his/her whole life. However, in case of companies, acquisitions result in acquiring the right of intellectual property of the other firm. Apart from asset related or personal intellectual properties, there is also a type named as ‘digital intellectual property’ which is technical and information technology oriented. Protection of digital intellectual property is more difficult than other types because of rapidly changing technological environment. Some of the most common digital intellectual property issues include open source code, plagiarism, competitive intelligence, reverse engineering, and cyber squatting. In research, scientific interest in intellectual property related issues in the digital sphere has found a key position. For researchers and practitioners, intellectual property is related to legal, social, ethical, and professional issues have formed some special interest throughout the world. Although there are a number of discussions going on regarding the concerns of intellectual property rights and copyright, but an in-depth study of intellectual property and its protection in academic settings is still missing (Trencheva & Denchev n.d.). In this paper, the value of intellectual property for information technology professionals has been discussed in order to know what they need to do for the protection of intellectual property. The report also focused the ethical, social, and professional issues related to intellectual property. Along with this, arguments in favor and against intellectual property were also included in the paper. The report concluded that protection of intellectual property has become a critical issue with the advent and progress of information technology all over the world. Although there exist some particular laws, legislations, and methods related to protection of intellectual property, still this issue needs more focus considering the proliferation of internet and related technologies. Value of Intellectual Property Rights for an IT Professional The value of the intellectual property rights cannot be underestimated for IT professionals regardless of whatever importance to the study of intellectual property is given in the academic settings. The truth is that protection of intellectual property has gained even more importance with the advent of the internet and related technologies (Britz n.d.). Printers, scanners, Photoshop, and other similar hardware and software products have made protection of intellectual property more complicated. It is the responsibility of the IT professionals to take effective measures for the protection of intellectual property. Not only the IT professionals but also all owners of intellectual properties need to be aware of how and when they created the intellectual property for the proper protection and exploitation of intellectual property (Hargreaves 2011). Intellectual property distinguishes a company from other companies in today’s world of intense competition. It is strongly recommended for the owners of ideas and other intellectual properties to get their IPs registered as soon as possible in order to give them a legal status and protect them from unauthorized copying. In case of business owners, once they create the intellectual property, they need to manage their intellectual property portfolio, capture and maximize the value of their innovative ideas, do proper and regular monitoring of the infringements, and enforce the intellectual property rights. On the other hand, information technology experts should make copying and printing of copyright images and texts restricted to their owners. Everything is now on internet and it is not difficult for the users of the internet to download anything they want. Critics of intellectual property and their hidden influence on the copyright act seems to be the obstacle preventing IT experts from making illegal downloads of copyright images and texts impossible for users of internet. As far as the value of intellectual property is concerned, it is a unique thing in the form of symbols, images, or ideas that differentiates a person or a company for others. For example, a logo or a symbol is the intellectual property of a company that represents the company in market. Any other company that use the same symbol to market its products actually commits an illegal act. Unauthorized use of intellectual property gives rise to a number of legal issues that consequently need to be resolved in the courts. This is the reason why legal experts put strong emphasis on the protection of intellectual properties in four ways, which include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. 2. Legal Landscape for Intellectual Property As discussed earlier, protection of intellectual property holds great value. In this regard, many methods exist in law that determine the ways the content can be exploited, such as, freedom of expression, the right to privacy, obscenity and indecency, and data protection. The implementation of these laws varies from one country to another as various EC principles of law and international conventions preserve these legal issues. Therefore, it is very important that the organizations of cultural heritage consult their respective laws and legislations and consider them while dealing with the digital intellectual properties (Korn n.d.). Although such restrictions are legal and protect the use of intellectual property, but there is a concern about it. .i.e. it also prevents the owners of the intellectual properties from exploiting them to their full potential as it places different controls on the way they can be used and displayed. In this regard, the European Convention on Human Rights from 1950 does a great job as it not only protects the use of intellectual property but also liberates individuals by ensuring a huge level of freedom into the law. The right to privacy is one such freedom that is available to the owners and users of intellectual properties. Everyone can enjoy complete freedom in his/her daily life, as well as in the use of intellectual property. In case of digital content, the implementation of this law becomes even more imperative. The courts have widely interpreted this provision. They take special care that the digital intellectual property rights are not breached in any case. Similarly, they also ensure that the right to privacy of every person should remain intact over the internet. Moreover, using an individual’s likes and dislikes for promotional purposes without proper authorization is regarded as breach of his/her right of privacy (Korn n.d.). Protection of personal information over the internet and on all types of digital media is also taken into consideration into the EC legislation. It also sets the regulations regarding the processing of information. The law prevents everyone from using some specific types of information for any purpose without getting permission from the parent source. The personal information, such as, one related to ethnic or racial origin, religious beliefs, political opinions, religious beliefs, sex life information, trade-union membership, or any other information related to personal life cannot be published anywhere without authorization. Obtaining the consent of the person to whom the information belongs is essential before putting the information over the internet or on any other digital media. France and the United States have even gone one step forward in protecting the digital intellectual property of people. These countries have implemented such laws that provide additional protection to the personal information of famous people. Under those laws, images of famous people cannot be used for advertisements or business promotion without their permission (Korn n.d.). Anyone aiming to use celebrities’ images and personal information for promotional purposes has to get the consent of the person whom information is being planned for use. Therefore, it has become prohibited for a cultural institution to take a photograph of a famous person and use it for organizational or promotional purposes without getting the consent of that person. The aim behind this legislation is to inject a sense of privacy in the minds of people regarding their personal information. There is a law named as ‘Freedom of Information Legislation’ under which every individual has the right to obtain information about any particular thing from its respective organization and the organization is liable to provide that information to the requesting person if no legal issue is involved in it. 3. Issues related to Intellectual Property Having discussed the value of intellectual property and some of the laws governing the protection of intellectual property rights of individuals and organizations, let us now discuss some of the ethical, social, and professional issues related to intellectual property. 4.1 Ethical Issues Relevant to Intellectual Property In case of human actions, whatever a person does falls under ethical or unethical actions. The ethical actions of a person refer to those actions that fall under the category of good actions. On the other hand, unethical actions are those which are not acceptable socially. If we talk about ethics from the angle of intellectual property, we can say that ethics has a lot to do with the protection of intellectual property rights. For example, it is just unethical for a person to copy the work of some other person without acknowledging him/her. However, in today’s technological world, where technology has a major impact on the way one finds, stores, assembles, and disseminates information, certain ethical issues arise. For example, a question may arise that whether the information stored in the database has been gathered with the permission of its owner or it has been collected without obtaining the consent. Another question which may arise is that whether the information is acknowledged in the right way or its source has been mentioned inaccurately. Some new concepts related to intellectual property are that 1) authors possess the right of contribution, and 2) intellectual property has a specific monetary value (Lerch 1999). These are relatively new concepts and have no traces to the older concepts. If we talk about this civilization, it comes to our notice that this civilization is based on storytelling in which credit is hardly given to the actual writers of the stories. For example, there is hardly any evidence of who wrote the book Cinderella, which is one of the most popular stories of the past. Now, in such cases the concept of ethics in intellectual property comes with a question mark because there is no authority which can stop people from changing the story in accordance to their cultures or civilizations. Anyone can make modifications to the story because there is no ownership behind it. Such cases raise the question of ethics because in actual, there must have been some write who had actually written this story. Ethics in the use of intellectual property also questions the right of a person to use the inventions of other people, as well as their personal information. This question also raises the issue of consent as discussed earlier in the report. For example, the area of concern is that getting the consent of every other person before including his/her private information in some document or digital media show will not only slow down the process of revealing information to the audience but also it will hinder a lot of useful information from reaching the public. In today’s rapidly moving world, does it really make sense that a person, when writing a document or making a television show, consult every single person to get his/her consent for the inclusion of his/her private information. Although it touches the boundaries of an unethical conduct but the fact is that no one has the time to find the original source to get the consent. Private information is the biggest intellectual property of a person but in today’s world, particularly for celebrities or famous people, this intellectual property is well in the reach of people who can use it for their personal benefits. While talking about the ethical issues related to intellectual property, let us also talk about plagiarism. Plagiarism is one of the main ethical concerns in the present world. As Jorgensen (n.d.) states, “Plagiarism violates the law as well as individual moral codes”. Copying or stealing someone’s writing, images, or quotations and using them as one’s own work is purely immoral and unjustifiable because the original owner of that intellectual property might have done a lot of struggle to produce it and if someone else copies that work without indicating the original source, it goes beyond the ethics. Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property, as well as a clear breach of ethical conduct (Randall 2001, p. 5). In organizational settings, if a person stores some information in the management information system of his/her company without acknowledging the actual source, it means that he/she has committed plagiarism because using the intellectual property of others even for organizational purposes without acknowledging the information is unethical and is a breach of law. Plagiarism is an act of cheating and copying which is totally against the ethics of creativity. Rozakis (2007) states, “Plagiarism is a serious lapse in ethics as well as a cause for failure” (p. 118). Some people consider paraphrasing as a legal way to avoid plagiarism. However, the fact is that paraphrasing also involves the use of some parent source. How can it be ethical for a person to use some credible information for personal or professional purposes without acknowledging it even when it is not in the same format or structure as it is in its actual form? The fact is that if someone paraphrases a quotation or a small paragraph, which is very close to the original version, it is also a form of plagiarism. As Ellis-Christensen (n.d.) states, “Paraphrasing someone else’s work too closely is another form of plagiarism”. Some people make use of the copyrighted work available online or in libraries without mentioning the sources either due to lack of knowledge or due to lack of awareness regarding copyrighted works. It is one of the main ethical issues related to the use of intellectual property because it is like dodging your professor and the original writer. There should be some specific set of strict rules and regulations regarding the use of intellectual properties of others for academic or professional purposes in order to make people avoid stealing of information. 4.2 Social Issues Relevant to Intellectual Property The social issues related to the use of intellectual property also need to be addressed for the betterment of the society. It is a fact that when a society gets involved in cheating, copying, and misuse of intellectual property, it affects the overall ethics of the society. In this regard, the role of the education sector becomes important. If students are taught the importance of originality and innovation at the earliest stages of their school life, their chances of being involved in plagiarism or in any sort of intellectual property misuse activity can go significantly down. It is the responsibility of the teachers to educate children the importance of creativity and innovation by linking their hard work and creativity with rewards so that they focus on building the level of their own creativity and start respecting the intellectual properties of others (Intellectual Property Office 2013). Teachers should encourage students to show their own potential and come up with innovative ideas. This will not only make the next generation socially responsible but also more creative and innovative. It is very important for the students to understand the importance of the value of intellectual property and copyright. It is extremely important to make young students aware that copyright is the way for the creators to monitor the use of their work. “That is the only way to ensure quality and develop creativity, the touchstone of a well-educated and therefore successful society” (Bougard 2013). 4.3 Professional Issues Relevant to Intellectual Property There also exist some professional issues related to the use of intellectual property. For example, when information is to be stored in the databases or in information systems, proper acknowledgement of the information should be done. However, it is very difficult for the people involved in gathering and storing information to collect all sources of the information and mention them every time they use that information for organizational purposes. An information management strategy involves the use of a range of systems, such as, computer programs, source codes, algorithms, methodologies, and mechanisms that help in the conversion of raw data into useful information. It also incorporates the use of information technology and a range of software and hardware products to make the system efficient and fully functional (Carry 1988). To align the corporate strategy with information management mechanisms, the need to integrate the use of management information systems in all departments becomes critical. However, the protection of intellectual properties in such scenario becomes more difficult to manage. As summers (2010, p. 1) states, “upgrading your business information system is a necessary process that every successful organization should implement”. Whenever the upgrade is required, updating of the original sources of the stored information also needs to be done which is again an additional task for the people responsible for managing the database. In order to protect the intellectual property, information system managers should make it necessary for the people responsible for the collection of information to acknowledge their sources so that no problem persists for the company related to the use of that information. 4. Arguments in Favor of Intellectual Property Given below are some of the main arguments in favor of intellectual property: Creators should always possess the moral rights to monitor and control their work. They should have four basic rights, which include the right of integrity, the right of attribution, the right of stopping some of their works from publication, and the right to decide whether their work should be published and when it should be published (Lerch 1999). Creators should be given the compensation for the use of their works by someone else whether it is with consent. If someone is found to be using the intellectual property of someone without permission, proper legal action should be taken to discourage this act. Summary: These arguments show that intellectual property is one of the most previous assets which should be protected by all means. Creators of intellectual properties should have the right to monitor and control their work. According to Lerch (1999), the inventors or creators of intellectual properties should have the right of integrity, the right of attribution, the right of stopping some of their works from publication, and the right to decide whether their work should be published and when it should be published. Summing it up, intellectual property is an asset so laws should be made even stronger to protect this asset from stealing, copying, and misuse. 5. Arguments against Intellectual Property Given below are the arguments against intellectual property: Information should be free for use for everyone (Lerch 1999). There should be no restriction on anyone regarding the use of any information unless it is some secret information related to government matters. Ideas can come in the mind of any person so it is not necessary that one should always find a source for a new idea. Domination of others in case of use of information cannot be considered ethical. Information is not information unless someone shares it with the public (Lerch 1999). Some information which are universal facts even do not have any source who gave us that information, so if that information can be used without acknowledging it, why cannot other information be used the same way. Summary: These arguments show that every person has the right to access any sort of information so it should not be copyrighted. Unless the information is of some secret matter, it should not be unnecessary restrictions for public because it may lead to misinformation. Ideas should not be influenced because they can come in the mind of any person. Anyone can come up with an idea similar to the one that may exist before. Therefore, it is not necessary that one should always find source for his/her own idea. 6. Conclusion Summing it up, intellectual property consists of ideas, inventions, artworks, or any other thing that a person creates using his/her own imagination. Protection of intellectual property has been a critical issue since many years which has now become even more critical with the rapid technological progress all over the world. Protection of digital intellectual property, in particular, has become an area of concern. Some of the most common digital intellectual property issues include open source code, competitive intelligence, reverse engineering, plagiarism, and cyber squatting. Although some methods, such as, copyright, patents, and trade secrets also exist to combat the ethical, social, and professional concerns, still this issue needs more focus considering the proliferation of internet and related technologies. 7. What the Government Should Do? The national legislation of the government of England should reflect the intellectual property standards of protection. As the risk of intellectual property infringement is high, the government should deal with this issue on criminal offense basis. For this, the government should add some laws specific to intellectual property protection in the constitution. The government should form a board which should be assigned the duty to regulate the laws, as well as protect the creative works. References Bougard, M 2013, Intellectual Property Rights Campaign, viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.societyofauthors.org/intellectual-property-rights Britz, J n.d., Technology as a Threat to privacy: Ethical Challenges to the Information Professional, viewed 15 March 2014, http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT96/96-025-Britz.html Carry, J 1988, Human Factors in Management Information Systems, Alex Publishing Corporation, U.S.A. Ellis-Christensen, T n.d., What is Plagiarism?, viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-plagiarism.htm Hargreaves, I 2011, Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, viewed 20 March 2014, http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview-finalreport.pdf Intellectual Property Office 2013, Intellectual Property and the External Environment, viewed 15 March 2014, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/intellectual-property-office/intellectual-property-and-the-external-environment/social-factors.html#axzz2w0luch26 Jorgensen, A n.d., Ethical Issues Regarding Plagiarism, viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.ehow.com/about_6464829_ethical-issues-regarding-plagiarism.html Korn, N n.d., Guide to Intellectual Property Rights and Other Legal Issues, viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/guideipr1_0.pdf Lerch, D 1999, Issues of Intellectual Property & Copyright for Educators, viewed 15 March 2014, http://education.illinois.edu/wp/copyright/issues_of_intellect_prop.html Pollick, M 2011, What is Intellectual Property?, viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-intellectual-property.htm Randall, M 2001, Pragmatic Plagiarism: Authorship, Profit, and Power, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Rozakis, L 2007, Schaum’s Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Summers, I 2010, Guide to Upgrading Your Business Information Systems, viewed 15 March 2014, http://ezinearticles.com/?Guide-­to-­Upgrading-­Your-­Business-­Information-­Systems&id=3720773 Trencheva, T & Denchev, S n.d., Intellectual Property Education in University Environment in Bulgaria, viewed 15 March 2014, http://conference.pixel-online.net/foe2013/common/download/Paper_pdf/199-SOE46-FP-Trencheva-FOE2013.pdf Milestone 3 Marking Scheme Final Essay Marking Criteria Maximum marks Marks given Title and Topic Relevance of title and topic to module concepts and ideas. 2 Presentation Essay structure and presentation (including spelling, grammar, length, and organisation). 5 Content Identification of ethical, social and legal issues within chosen topic. 8 Different perspectives given and references made to different arguments by different stakeholders/authors. 8 Assessment and evaluation of issues based on consideration of evidence, different perspectives and sound reasoning. 8 Application of professional codes of conduct and ethical principles to chosen topic. 8 Limits and vulnerabilities of information systems discussed. 6 Range and quality of references consulted. Authoritative sources cited. Correct citation style (Harvard). Use of in-text referencing. 5 TOTAL 50 Comments Read More