Intellectual Property and Software Development

Chapter 6

1. you have been asked by the manager of software development to lead a small group of software developers in an attempt to reengineer the latest release of the software by your leading competitor. The goal of the group is to identify features that could be implemented into the next few releases of your firm software. You are told that the group would relocate from the united states to the island of Antigua, in the Caribbean sea, to “reduce the risk the group being destructed by the daily pressures associated with developing fixes and enhancements with the current software release.” What sort of legal and/or ethical questions might be raised by the reengineering effort? Would you consider taking this position?

• The position given to me from the manager of software development to lead a small group of software developers is a big opportunity and yes I will take the opportunity. The sort of legal or ethical questions might be raised will be not offensive to the developers of the current release software because there are some features you and your group don’t like. So, well, let just ask some questions to the developers that can’t offend them. First, in relocating to the island of Antigua, in the Caribbean Sea, maybe it’s just for the group to work efficiently because it has a good place to work but my question is why we should go far? Why? We can’t do it here? Of course, we can do it here without a pressure and not be distracted by others. Just we can do it in a place here in United States that we can efficiently work for the developing and searching for a place. Secondly, if we go there, it cost too much unlike here we can cost but it’s just a small amount.

1. You have procrastinated to long and now your final paper for your English course is due in just 5 days- right in the middle of the final exam week! The paper counts for half your grade for the term and would probably take you at least 20hrs. Of research and write. Your roommate, an English major with a 3.8GPA, has suggested 2 options. (1) He will write an original paper for you for $100, or (2) he will show you 2 of 3 “paper mill” websites, from which you can download a paper for less than $35. You wanted to do the right thing, but writing the paper will take away from the time you have available to study for your final exam in 3 other courses. What would you do?

• Yes, I want to do the right thing for all of this. I will do the paper given to me, research and write it not in the consecutive hours, I will give some hours/time to do it and I will estimate that it can be exact in 20 hours before or during the deadline. So, I can give time for studying my 3 others courses examination within the range of the time.

1. You are beginning to feel very uncomfortable in your new position as a computer hardware salesperson for a firm that is the major competitor of your previous employer. Today for the second time, someone has mentioned to you how valuable it would be to know what the marketing a new product development plans whereof your ex-employer. You stated that you are an able to discuss such information under the non disclosure contract signed with your former employer, but you know your response did not satisfy your new co-workers. You fear that the pressure to reveal information about the plans of your former company is only going to increase over the next few weeks. What do you do?

• I would do the right, I will discuss to them as my employer does. But, of course I will not reveal the main or controversial one for the satisfaction of my co-workers. Also, I should provide the exact information in them.

1. You have been asked to lead your company’s new competitive intelligence organization. What would you do to ensure that members of the new organization obey applicable law and the company’s own ethical policies?

• As a new leader of the campany's competitive intelligence organization, to ensure that my members will obey the law and ethical policies, I would explane carefully and understandable about the law and policies in the company and I will discuss also what would the consequences of doing unethical or doing things against the policies of the company.

1. You are the vice president for software development at a small, private firm. Sales of your firms’ products have been strong, but you recently detected a patent infringement by one of your larger competitors. Your in-house legal stuff has identified 3 options: (1) ignore the infringement out of fear that your larger competitor will file numerous counter-suits; (2) threaten to file suite, but try to negotiate an out-of-court settlement of an amount of money.

• Threating people and negotiating it in an out-of-court settlement of an amount of money is an act of unethical behavior but you as a vice president of the company you can’t ignore the patent infringement happening in the company. I would not do to threat some people who do patent infringement. It has a law for the patent privacy, it is the law who can do what is/are the right way to do so and it is the law who can punish him/her in accordance to the exact way he/she does.

Chapter 7
1. Apple Guidelines for App Approval
Apple’s App Store has been a huge success ever since it was launched in 2008. As of the end of 2010, the app store offered more than 250, 000 applications available for sale to owners of apple, iPhone, iPad and iPod devices, with more than 6.5 Billion downloads since it opened.
Before software applications can be solved throught the App Store, they must go through a review process. Apple has been accused by some of using clandestine and capricious rules to reject some programs and thus blocking them from reaching the very large and growing market of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. One application developer complained: “ if you submit an app, you have no idea whats going to happen. You have no idea it’s going to be approved or if it’s going to be disapproved.” The developers of an app called “South Park” complained that their app was rejected because the content was deemed “potentially offensive ,” even though episodes of the award-winning animated sitcom are available at the Apple iTunes Store. In September 2010, after more than two years of complains, apple finally provided applications developers the guidelines it uses to review software.
Most guidelines seem to be aimed at ensuring that Apple users can only access high quality and non-controversials Apps from its Apps Store. Some of the Apple guidelines are clear and their rationale is easy to understand, such as “ apps that rapidly drain the device’s battery or generate excessive eat will be rejected.” However, other guidelines are unclear and highly subjective, such as “ we will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line.” What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said ,“ I’ll know it when i see it. ‘ and we think that you will also know it when you cross it. (“ I know it when I see it” was the phrase used by U.S Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart to describe his ability to recognize rather than to provide a precise definition of hard core pornography and his opinion in the cae Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964.)
The electronic frontier foundation believes that while the guidelines are helpful, in some cases apple is defining the content of third-party software and placing limits on what is available to customers of Apple’s App Store.
By way of comparison, Google places few restrictions and developers of software for its competing Android Marketplace. However, there have been many low-quality applications offered to Android Marketplace customers, including some that include unwanted malware. Indeed by early 2011, google had pulled 21 Android applications from its Android Marketplace because, once downloaded, the applications not only stole users’ information and device data but also created a back door for even more harmful attacks. Apple’s decision to finally share applications guidelines may have been an attempt to combat the rapidly increasing popularity the android. It may also have been a response to a U.S Federal Trade Commissions investigations of a complaint for Adobe concerning Apples banning of the flash software from devices that run using Apple’s iOS operating system (Adobe Flash player is a browser-based applications that runs in many computer hardware/ operating system combination and support the viewing of called “rich, expressive applications,” content, the videos across screens and browsers .)
Discussion Questions:

1. Should Apple conduct extensive screening of Apps before they are allowed to be sold on the App Store? Why or why not?

• Yes, it should have to conduct the extensive screening of Apps allowing to sold it for the reason of there are some Apps that harmful to the users phone or to the user itself because as I read the discussion some Apps has a malware and some harm that it can provide back door to get the users personal information. Also, some Apps if you already installed it, these Apps can drain your battery fast. So, they must screen the Apps before selling it or allowing selling it in order the user’s safety and for the good feedback of their Apps.

1. Do research to determine the current status of the FCC investigation of Apple for banning use of the Adobe Flash software and devices that use the iOS operating system.

• Of coarse it has, they can determine if they do research because many of researcher has a higest percentage to come up the current issues. So, there is a big possibility to determine the current issues of the FCC investigation of Apple for banning use of the Adobe Flash software and devices that use the iOS operating system.

1. What do you think of Apple’s guidelines that say it will reject an App for any content or behavior that they believe is over the line? Could such statement be construed as a violation of the developer’s freedom of speech? Why or why not?

• No, it is not construed as a violation for the developers’ freedom of expression because if the Apps really over the line it is not acceptable for the publication to the Apps Store and it will affect them if they do.