Computer Software Copyright Ethics should be Required Learning
Computer software copyright ethics are not as cut and dry and easily defined as many other ethical questions or debates. Some would argue that the programmer for the smart bomb is ethical because he s writing programs and designing technology that is meant to protect the lives of American s. Others would argue that this is not true because he s designing software that could result in the loss of innocent life. Like all moral debates, it s a slippery slope and quite honestly the majority rules against those who make some sort of financial gain as a fruit of their labor. The same holds true for these debates when the center on things such as computer software copyright ethics.
Anyone who has gone through college and majored in computer science has probably either been required to take a class that deals with computer software copyright ethics or at the very least had the offer to take one of these classes. At the very least, ethics as far as copyright infringement and the explanation of what copyrights are involved. The problem with ethics and how they relate to writing software is that different software written for different platforms may have the same steps but will not be identical.
Some freshman introduction to computer software: copyright ethics classes at some point in time have a lesson, which requires all the students in the class to write an algorithm detailing the steps from first waking in the morning to the point of walking out the door. While most of the activities are quite similar no two students had the exact same algorithm. The reason is that while we may be doing the same things or taking very similar steps to get to the same point, we all have different things we must do in order to get there. While many programs may have the same beginning point and ending point. The process in between is vastly different. If the source code for one is just like another that s a pretty clear argument for computer software copyright ethics violations.
Additionally, it is very unlikely that two programmers will code exactly alike. Even those working in close proximity will have marked differences in their methods of coding. Some write clean code that is very easy to read and simply looks elegant and concise. Others write dirty code that needs heavy notations and a roadmap to read through. Both lines of code may work to create the exact same product, both products may run very well, but the two programmers would know immediately after twenty years who wrote which code. Computer software copyright ethics shouldn t even need to be discussed in the hallowed halls of learning about the programming process. The fact that they do is quite a sad situation, however, the need exists because somewhere along the lines, others have copied source code, plagiarized the works of other programmers, and flat out sought to profit from the sweat, labor, and love of other coders.
Computer programming is one of those rare fields that most of the people who do this for a living really love what they do and take a great deal of pride in their art form. For many their code is a work of art. My husband s friends in college referred to him as the code poet because his work was always elegant and pretty (for college coders it was a serious compliment that they referred to anything as pretty). Others find the end result to be their art and still others simply enjoy the suffering part for the sake of their art staying up long hours and purchasing stock on Red Bull and Amps on the side. For these artists there is no questions about computer software copyright ethics, it s about coding well and standing behind your code.
=====================
Computer software copyright ethics
from a1-TRUST.info/onlinecopyright/
Information at your fingertips!
=====================
This article may be republished as long as the
above resource box remains intact.
Nothing in this website should be construed as legal advice of any sort. If you require accurate upto date legal advice - Consult a Lawyer!
