7.08 Impacts of CS: Who Owns the Bits?

7.8 Impacts of CS: Who Owns the Bits? Curriculum Page

Portfolio Reflection Questions:

1. In your own words, define the concept of copyright. Why should all Internet users be aware of copyrighted material?

• Copyright is a protection that is given to someone's possessions which include but are not limited to their ideas and property. Copyright gives someone the authority to decide who can and cannot use or profit off of their property. All Internet users should be aware of copyright material because there are extreme repercussions if someone does violate the copyright law.

2. What is the difference between digital and printed documents that makes it easier to violate copyright law with digital ones?

• Digital documents can be copied and shared/distributed at a much faster rate than printed documents can.

3. What is a peer-to-peer architecture? Provide an example of at least one well-known peer-to-peer network.

• Peer-to-peer architecture is a concept of someone owning a product and allowing other users to access/use it. A system using peer-to-peer architecture enables many users to possess many different documents without paying for them (because they are given to them for free by another person that has already paid for it-so it's only paid for once). An example of this type of network was Napster.

4. What is the DMCA and why is it significant to copyright, especially with regards to electronic works (documents, images, videos, etc.)?

• The DMCA is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and it prevents individuals or companies from using technology to copyright material and/or facilitate others to copyright materials.

5. What are Open Access and Creative Commons? How have they impacted the sharing of digital information?

• Open Access and Creative Commons promote the idea of publicly sharing documents on the internet, while the owner retains ownership (no worries of users breaking the copyright laws). They have enabled people to easily share documents online without the worry of violating the copyright law because creators maintain their ownership.

6. The Blown to Bits book is released under a Creative Commons (CC) license, specifically the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license. What does this license allow people other than the authors to do? What is the relationship between the original Blown to Bits book and the newer, Blown to Bits (version 2.0) book? Did the authors of the newer version stay true to the CC license? How can you tell? (Optional) If your favorite book or movie was released with a CC license, how would you change it?

• The Creative Commons license allows people other than the authors to share, edit, and redistribute the item. The second version of the Blown to Bits book credited the original book and referenced the original book. By doing this they did stay true to the license because they kept it open and allowed for others to edit and share their work.

7. The chapter describes three peer-to-peer networks, each of which can be used to share copyrighted works illegally. Why did the courts find that Napster and Grokster were liable for the illegal activities of it's users, while BitTorrent is not?

• The courts found Napster and Grokster as liable for illegal activities because they knew that their users were using their servers to distribute copyrighted material illegally. However, BitTorrent was not found liable because users needed a separate server and a separate host to perform the illegal activities.

8. What effect have streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify had on illegal downloading activities?

• Streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify abide by the copyright laws and keep their users safe. As a result of this, it has led to a decrease in the amount of illegal downloading activities.

9. Why was it important for Jack Andraka to have access to research articles? In general, how has access to information helped to identify problems, develop solutions, and disseminate results?

• Access to information has helped people identify problems because it enables people that aren't necessarily studying something specific to look at the information and possibly find a solution. Sometimes when new people look at something with new perspectives, they can dramatically influence the research.

10. What is your responsibility as an app developer in regards to the fair use of copyrighted works such as images and music? Give one example use of a copyrighted work in an app that follows fair use guidelines and one example that violates fair use guidelines.

• My responsibility as an app developed is to make sure that I am following the copyright laws and providing credit to original authors of works that I cite/borrow. An example that follows fair use guidelines is when using an image in an app, to check and see if the author allows redistribution, and if so that they cite the author. An example that violate fair use guidelines includes using someone's exact words from a document in an essay and not using quotations and citing the author.

11. In your opinion, are YouTube users violating copyright terms when they make lyric videos? Why or why not?

• Yes they are because they are providing the songs for users that didn't purchase the song. As a result, they receive profit from the work of an artist that hasn't specifically given them the ability to reuse the song for their benefit.