Chapter 4: Intellectual Property
    Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

   Intellectual Property and Changing Technology
What is Intellectual Property?o Concepts such as copyleft and the GNU Public License provide alternatives to proprietary software within today's current legal framework
 
   Issues for Software Developers
Patents for Software?o The intangible creative work, not its particular physical form
o Value of intelligence and artistic work comes from creativity, ideas, research, skills, labor, non-material efforts and attributes the creator provides
o Protected by copyright and patent law
  
   Intellectual Property and Changing Technology (cont.)
What is Intellectual Property?o Patentsprotectinventionsofnewthingsor processes
o TheSupremeCourtsaidthatsoftwarecould not be patented; however a machine that included software could
o Patentsarenotsupposedtobegivenfor things that are obvious or are already in common use
o ThePatentOfficehasmademistakeso Would there be sufficient incentives to produce the huge quantity of consumer software available now?o Would the current funding methods for free software be sufficient to support all software development?o Should software be covered under copyright law?