CS 5150Software

EngineeringLecture 5

Legal Aspects of Software Engineering

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Follow-up from last lecture

• How to resolve widely different work estimates?

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Projects

• Almost everyone has a group

• ... if you do not, I can help you join an existing group

• The feasibility study and plan is due in just under 2 weeks

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Legal Environment

• Software exists in a complex legal framework

• Every software developer should be aware of some parts of that framework

• Project decision makers usually consult with lawyers

• If you’re in doubt about the legal ramifications of a decision, always talk to a lawyer first

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Legal Topics that are Relevant to Software

• Jurisdiction (local, national, international)

• Intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark, trade secrets)

• Contracts and licences

• Privacy and security

• Employment

• Free speech and its limitations

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Self-Study

• Lots of legal information accessible on the web now (e.g. http://www.law.cornell.edu/)

• Reading the actual legal text can be enlightening

• Do use your own legal interpretations to make decisions that could affect your team, clients or users in important ways

• Court decisions form a complex web of interpretations of sometimes contradictory laws

• Also, do not place much stock in free advice

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Legal Change

• Laws and interpretations adapt slowly to changing technologies

• Most lawyers, judges and lawmakers have little technical background (with some exceptions in e.g. Silicon Valley)

• This sometimes forces technologists to exist in a legal limbo, or participate in updating the legal framework

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Jurisdiction: USA

• The United States has

• Federal laws and federal courts

• State laws and state courts

• Much of state law is based on the Uniform Commercial Code

• Relationship between US law and International law is complex and changing

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Jurisdiction: Boundaries

• “The internet has no boundaries”

• Well... sort of

• Examples: WikiLeaks, free speech limitations, intellectual property enforcement

• Where do you pay taxes?

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Statutes and Precedents

• The United States follows Common Law

• Statutes (bills) passed by legislatures

• Regulations issued by government agencies

• Precedents (judgments) made by courts

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Intellectual Property: Copyright

• Federal law that applies to literary works

• Originally just texts (in the narrow sense); extended to music, images, designs, software

• Copyright applies to expressions of ideas, not ideas themselves

• In software, copyright applies to particular programs, not the concepts behind the programs or a particular physical copy of a program

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Copyright Details

• In the USA copyright gives owners exclusive right to:

• reproduce or copy

• distribute

• perform or execute

• display

• license others to do any of these things

• Special exceptions (not usually relevant to software):

• First sale

• Fair use

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Ownership and Copyright

• At creation time

• Copyright is automatically owned by the creator

• Except works for hire; owned by the employer

• In the USA ownership of copyright can be transferred

• i.e. it is property that can be sold

• Governed by contract law

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Ownership of Software

• Almost all employment contracts specify that the employer owns any code produced by the employee

• Any contract programming should include ownership agreement

• If you do not own the copyright, you must get permission (license) to do just about anything with code, even if you wrote it

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Derivative Software

• When software is derived from old software:

• Copyright of the new code is owned by the new author(s)

• Constraints on the old code apply to the derived work

• Some leaders of open source projects insist that all contributors transfer copyright ownership to a single person or organization

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Cornell Copyright

• Cornell policy states that students own the copyright on any works they produce for class

• Your feasibility study must include a statement of how the copyright for the code you produced will handled. Most clients will want you to transfer ownership to them.

• Read the Cornell policy:

• http://www.dfa.cornell.edu/dfa/cms/treasurer/policyoffice/policies/volumes/governance/upload/Copyright.html

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5150 Entrepreneurial Projects

• If your project is for a start-up company or similar venture, it is essential that you agree on any sharing of potential rewards before you do the development work

• If in doubt, ask for advice

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Software Contracts

• Contracts are how software is licensed or sold

• An agreement regarding an exchange of goods and services

• Written document with signatures

• Permanent or temporary; whole or part

• Exclusive or non-exclusive

• Termination, problems difficulties

• Terms and conditions

• Enforceable by courts

• For simple agreements, an exchange of letters is sufficient

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Open Source Software

• OSS is an important part of the modern software landscape that does not fit well into traditional contract law

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Intellectual Property: Patents

• Patents apply to inventions

• Should be: non-obvious, novel, useful

• The patent process is complex; you should always consult a lawyer before pursuing a patent

• 17 years from award (20 from application)

• Copyright applies to expressions of ideas; patents apply to ideas themselves

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Software Patents

• A big mess

• Hard to know where ideas originate

• Patent examiner ignorance has led to broad patents for routine computing ideas

• Many ideas are covered by tens of patents

• International differences

• Math is not patentable

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Trade Secrets and Non-Disclosure Agreements

• "... information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that derives independent economic value from not being generally known and not being readily ascertainable and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy."

• Uniform Trade Secrets Act

• Non-disclosure agreement:

• Legal agreement for revealing trade secrets in a limited way

• Read carefully!!!

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Trade Secrets

• Trade secrets do not expire, as long as they are kept secret

• Competitors may not use secrets obtained through extra-legal means

• Trade secrets learned from one employer must not be disclosed to other employers

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Employment Law (Employer’s side)

• Every jurisdiction has complex laws regarding recruiting, hiring, firing, on-job conditions, and terms and conditions of employment

• If you supervise other people, you should be familiar with some of this law

• If you hire other people, you should probably consult a lawyer

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Employee’s side

• Employment contracts vary quite a bit and are negotiable

• Non-compete

• Non-disclosure

• Ownership of hobby projects

• Talk about these things before accepting a job!

• Read the contract before signing it!

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Privacy

• Invasions of privacy:

• Intrusion

• Appropriation of name or likeness

• Unreasonable publicity

• False light

• Data collection

• If you collect any personal data, be very careful

• Special laws regarding children

• Europe is more restrictive than the USA

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Privacy in the Workplace

• Work-related material on work machines is definitely not private

• Many employers consider all information on work machines to be the companies property

• As a software developer it is likely that you will encounter private information at some point in your career

• Keep it private!

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Privacy on the Internet

• Legally, email enjoys the same protection as postal mail

• But there is no envelope!

• If your work involves transfering data over public networks, you should take appropriate precautions (encryption, etc)

• Business email belongs to the company

• Deleting email can be considered inappropriately destroying records

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Free Speech

• In the USA the Constitution protects speech, but there are major exceptions (state secrets, defamation, obscenity, hate speech)

• Laws in other countries vary considerably (blasphemy, criticism of government, holocaust denial)

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Bottom Line for Developers

• Be familiar with the legal environment you’re operating in, but do not pretend to be a lawyer