The purpose of the code of ethics is to state the HECN's policy concerning software installation and duplication. All employees shall use software only in accordance with the license agreement. Any other duplication of licensed software except for backup and archival purposes is a violation of the law. Unlawful duplication of copyrighted computer software violates the HECN's standards of conduct.
The following points must be followed in order to comply with software license agreements:
- All software must be used in accordance with the license agreements.
- No employee (faculty/staff/student) of HECN will make any unauthorized copies of any software under any circumstances. Anyone found unlawfully copying or installing software is subject to institutional disciplinary policies and may be subject to civil and criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment.
- No employee (faculty/staff/student) shall give software to any non-HECN employee, including clients, customers and others.
- Any employee (faculty/staff/student) who determines that there may be a misuse of software within their institution/department shall notify their campus computer center/help desk or campus counsel.
- All software used by the HECN on HECN computers will be properly purchased through appropriate procedures.
Please see the North Dakota University System Policy Manual Section: 1901.2 Computing Facilities for additional information.
General Software Ethics
UNAUTHORIZED copying of software is illegal. Copyright law protects software authors and publishers, just as patent laws protect inventors.
UNAUTHORIZED copying of software by individuals can harm the entire academic community. If unauthorized copying proliferates on a campus, the institution may incur legal liability. Also, the institution may find it more difficult to negotiate aggreements that would make software more widely and less expensively available to memebers of the acaedemic community.
UNAUTHORIZED copying and use of software deprives publishers and developers of a fair return for their work, increases prices, reduces level of future support and enhancements, and can inhibit the development of new software products.
Tips to keep pirated software off your machines:
1. If you don't have a license for the product - don't install it.
2. For shareware software - either buy the license or unistall it when the trial period is over. Just leaving shareware products on your machine after trial period expirations is considered pirated software. If it doesn't work - get rid of it!
3. If you have annually renewable software on your machine but have not renewed it "because it still works", you need to renew it or remove it. It's kind of like driving with an expired driver's license. Law enforcement officials tend to frown on that, as do software companies. The penalties are less for the driver's license infringement...
4. If your department is ever audited, you will need to have proof of purchase for each copy of a software product that you have installed. Having the CD is not proof of purchase. Your receipt (paid invoice, cash reigster receipt, etc.) is your proof of purchase.
Classifications of Software
In terms of copyrights, there are four broad classifications of software:
- Commercial: Purchasing this software means you acquire a license to use, not own, the software from the company that owns the copyright to the product.
- Shareware: A license to use, not own, the software is acquired from the company that owns the copyright for the software. Be sure to read the conditions of the license agreement. If the copyright holder allows purchasers to distribute copies of the software, after testing the software and choosing to use it, you must pay for it. If you decide not to use it, you must remove it from your machine. This is similar to a trial version of software.
- Freeware: A license to use this software is acquired from the party that owns the copyright to the software. The software can be distributed, as long as it is not for profit. Modifications of the software, including decompiling the code of the software, are allowed and encouraged. The modified software must be designiated as freeware - it cannot be sold.
- Public Domain: The copyright holder explicitly relinquishes all rights to the software. The software must be clearly marked as Public Domain. In this situation, there are no restrictions on distribution, modification, decompiling the code, or developing new software built upon the origional Public Domain software.
If you have any questions or comments about the HECN Code of Software Ethics, or software ethics in general, please send them to undsoftware@mail.und.edu.
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