Yours, Mine(s), and Ours: Intellectual Property and IT
Prof. Charles Hall, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
IT is usually a very collaborative activity. Interesting and interested people work together to create, market, use, and improve exciting apps, games, programs, or other less obvious 'products.' The success of projects, such as the Internet, Firefox, Linux, PHP, Moodle and Wikipedia, shows us the power of work based on this philosophy of community cooperation. But, who has the right to alter, use, and, importantly, earn from these projects? Who really "owns" these projects? We know who owns Microsoft, but what does "own" mean today? Who owns the Internet? Consequently, all involved in IT need to be aware of copyright, trademarks, licensing, and other central concepts in Intellectual Property [IP]. If we aren't careful, we might end up on the wrong side of a potentially expensive lawsuit.
We will look at both ends of the IP/IT spectrum: a) "absolute intellectual property rights" as sources of income and b) open source "viruses" that spread "freedom" in sometimes unpredictable ways.
The workshop will help participants understand the basics of IP in IT, from trademarks to EULAs. We will explore open source, licensing, copyright, and copyleft. The information should help not only developers but almost anyone understand his/her basic rights and responsibilities in the IT field.
The workshop will be highly interactive, and the presenters invite prospective participants to submit questions to be addressed during the course. Each participant will be part of an "IT team" that will present on a topic relevant to their own work. Credit will be awarded on a Pass/Fail basis.
Additional information:
Dr. Ulrich Norbisrath
737 6422
ulrich.norbisrath [at] ut.ee
Place: J. Liivi 2, Room 512
Time: 9:00-12:00, 23.05-27.05.2011
Materials will be provided. If possible, please bring a notebook so that we can do online research during the course.
Successful participants will receive one credit point (1 EAC).