4.+Copyright+and+the+law

Copyright and the Law 

//List three ways of committing crime under Australia's Copyright Act://


 * Not making the work your using original
 * Stealing other peoples ideas and work
 * Using information which you aren't allowed to use

//Explain why shareware is cheaper than commercial software packages://

Shareware is cheaper than commercial software packages because you can use shareware for free as a trial (Shareware). But the person who will be using it knows that they may have to pay for it later. On the other hand commercial software is more expensive because they mainly come in a CD or DVD form, however they can also be purchased from the company's website (Commercial Software).

//Describe the technology developed by one Australian company to reduce software piracy://

One Australian company that tries to reduce software piracy is the Business Software Association of Australia also known as BSAA. This company tries to protect work by educating people (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2009). BSAA tries to reduce the amount of software piracy by giving a reward which is money, to people that report anything helpful about software piracy (A Solution to Reduce Software Piracy). The technology that this company uses is tracking people who use this pirated software.

//Why is copyright a major problem to multimedia publishers?//

Copyright is a major problem when it comes to multimedia publishers. It can decrease the amount of money that the publishers are making to produce multimedia for people to buy. If this starts to happen we may not have as much variety in multimedia.

//Do you think it is right to copy software without the permission of the author? Justify your answer.//

Personally I don't think that it is right to copy software without the permission of the author. I think this because you're doing something illegal. Another reason is that the software is downloaded for free and the author of the software won't get as much profit for designing the software.

//What are the legal issues surrounding software and the internet? In particular, look at sites from which software may be downloaded eg. and list the types of software available on such sites. Search for the Australian Copyright Council's site and see what you can discover about the rights of software designers when their software is made available on the Internet.//

There are many legal issues surrounding software and the internet. Most of these issues are about the amounts of digital data which is being downloaded illegally. Examples of sites where software can be downloaded include tucows and brothersoft. These are just a few of the sites where you can find software to download. The types of software which can be found in these types of sites include MP4 Converter, Photoshop, Microsoft Office and Adobe are just a few of these types of programs. Certain sites such as Australian Copyright Council, give information about the rights of software designers. These rights are mainly about their software being available on the Internet.