Intellectual Property (Edexcel GCSE Computer Science)

What is intellectual property (IP)?

• Intellectual property (IP) refers to creation of the human mind

• This includes:

  • Software - code

  • Inventions

  • Literacy & artistic work - books, poems, songs, movies, paintings etc.

  • Designs

  • Symbols, names & images used in commerce - logos, brand names, slogans etc.

• To gain financial reward/recognition for a persons IP and to prevent others from benefiting without permission there are four methods of IP protection:

  • Copyright

  • Patents

  • Trademarks

  • Licensing

Copyright & Patents

What is the Copyright Designs & Patents Act (1988)?

• This protects the intellectual property of an individual or a company

• It makes it illegal to copy, modify or distribute software or other intellectual property without the relevant permission

• If original work is original, copyright will be automatically applied and will not expire until 25 - 70 years from the death of the creator depending on the type of work

• If an individual believes that their work has been copied it is their responsibility to take action under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act

• Many sites online offer free downloads of copyrighted software/videos which prevents the intellectual copyright holder from earning their income on the work they have created

  • E.g. If someone downloaded videos from Netflix and shared them with others, they would be breaching the act

• The act covers videos and audio where peer-to-peer streaming prevents a copyright owner from receiving an income

What is prohibited under the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act?

Primary breaches:

• Copying an original work

• Issuing the copy of the original work to the public

• Renting/lending the copy of the original work to the public

• Performing, showing or playing the original work in public

• Making an adaptation of the original work

Secondary breaches:

• Importing a copy of original work

• Possessing or dealing with a copy of the original work

• Providing means to make copies of the original work

• Permitting the use of premises for making copies of the original work

• Provision of props/equipment for a performance of a copy of the original work

Trademarks & Licensing

What is a trademark?

• A trademark is a sign that distinguishes goods or services of one business to those from another

• Examples of the most valuable (highest revenue) trademarks include:

  • Amazon

  • Apple

  • Microsoft

  • Google

  • Visa

  • McDonald's

What is licensing?

• A software licence is a legal agreement that lays out rules for how software can and can't be used

• There are two main types of software licence, each with very different rules on usage, distribution and support, they are:

  • open source

  • proprietary

Features of open source & proprietary software

Advantages & disadvantages of open source & proprietary software