COSC3325 3/24/2005 Summary of Computer-related Federal Laws(II) 2. Federal laws for Privacy and Access to Information (Continued) G. Privacy Protection Act of 1980. (Section 2000aa, Title 42, United States Code) 1. Unlawful search or seizure of Work Product Materials Notwithstanding any other law, unlawful for government officer or employee, in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense, to search for or seize any work product materials possessed by a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Two exceptions: a. there is probable cause to believe that the person posses- sing such materials has committed or is committing the criminal offense to which the materials relate. b. there is reason to believe that the immediate seizure of such materials is necessary to prevent the deaths of, serious bodily injury to, a human being. 2. Other documents Notwithstanding any other law, unlawful for a government officer or employee, in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense, to search for or seize docu- mentary materials, other than work product materials, possessed by a person in connection with a purpose to disseminate to the public, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 4 exceptions: a. the same as (a) above b. the same as (b) above. c. there is a reason to believe that the giving of notice would result in the destruction, alteration, or conceal- ment of such materials, or d. such materials have not been produced in response to to a court order and (all appellate remedies have been exhausted or there is a reason to believe that the delay in an investigation or trial would threaten the interests of justice). H. Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. 1. Provides the overall framework for the regulation of the commu- nications industry in the U.S. 2. It does: a. establish a national policy concerning cable communications, b. establish franchise procedurs and standards which encourage the growth and development of cable systems and which assure that cable systems are responsive to the needs and interests of the local community, c. establish guidelines for the exercise of Federal, State, and local authority with respect to the regulation of cable systems, d. assure that cable communications provide diversity of info sources and services, e. establish the orderly process for franchise renewal which protects cable operators against unfair denial of renewal where the operator's past performance and proposal for future performance meet the standards established by this Act, and f. promote competition in cable communications and minimize unnecessary regulation that would impose an undue economic burden on cable systems. 3.A landlord cannot deny the tenants access to the cable service. 4.To address the concerns of subscriber's privacy, the Act mandates: At the time of entering into an initial agreement to provide any cable service and at least once a year thereafter, a cable operator shall provide notice in the form of a separate, written statement to inform the subscriber of (a) The nature of personally identifiable info collected or to be collected and the nature of the use of such info, (b) The nature, frequency, and purpose of any disclosure, including the types of persons to whom the disclosure may be made, (c) The period during which such info will be maintained, (d) The times and place at which the subscriber may have access to such info, and (e) The limitations provided by this section w.r.t. the collection and disclosure of info by a cable operator and the right of the subscriber... to enforce such limitations. I. Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. 1. Before this Act, the Government was not allowed to intercept phone conversation without a court warrant. Before this Act, the limitations referred only to wire and oral communication that could be heard by the human ear. 2. Developments in telecommunications in the 1970's and 1980's coupled with the 1982 divestiture of AT&T left then-current laws inadequate. 3. Amended the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to protect the security and privacy of personal and businees communications of practically all kinds in the US. 4. Modeled after the 1978 Right to Financial Privacy Act regarding interception of communications and surveillance. It covers electronic communication and electronic communications systems. J. Computer Security Act of 1987. (Sectoins 271-278h, Title 15, United States Code) 1. To provide minimum security practices for federal computer systems in protecting sensitive information 2. Assigned to the National Bureau of Standards the "Responsibility of developing standards and guidelines needed to assure cost- effective security and privacy of sensitive information" in government's computer systems. 3. Sensitive information includes ...any information, the loss, misuse, or unauthorized access to or modification of which could adversely affect the national interest or the conduct of Federal programs, or the privacy to whichindividuals are entitled under section 552a of Title 5, United States Code (The Privacy Act of 1974) 4. Established a Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board within the Department of Commerce whose duties include: a. to identify emerging managerial, technical, administrative, and physical safeguard issues relatie to computer systems security and privacy; b. to advise the Bureau of Standards and the Secretary of Commerce on security and Privacy issues pertaining to federal computer systems; and c. to report its finding to the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the National Security Agency, and the appropriate committees of the Congress. 5. Federal agencies are required to specify computers with sensitive information and devise a security plan for them. L. Child Online Protection Act (1998) Title I: Protection From Material That Is Harmful to Minors Title II: Children's Online Privacy Protection Child Online Protection Act - Title I: Protection From Material That Is Harmful to Minors - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for anyone who, with knowledge of the character of the material, in interstate or foreign commerce by means of the World Wide Web, makes any communication for commercial purposes that is available to minors (persons under age 17) and that includes any material that is harmful to minors. Provides additional penalties for each violation. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to telecommunications carriers and other Internet service providers. Makes it an affirmative defense that such person: (1) requires the use of a credit card, debit account, adult access code, or adult personal identification number; (2) accepts a digital certificate that verifies age; or (3) uses other reasonable age verification measures. Prohibits a person making such a communication from disclosing any information collected for purposes of restricting access to such communication to individuals 17 years of age or older without the prior written consent of: (1) the individual concerned if such individual is an adult; or (2) the individual's parent or guardian, if such individual is under 17 years old. Requires the person making such communication to take necessary actions to prevent unauthorized access to such information. Provides exceptions with respect to disclosure that is: (1) necessary to make the communication or to conduct a legitimate business activity related to making the communication; or (2) made pursuant to a court order authorizing such disclosure. Requires a provider of interactive computer service, at the time of entering into an agreement with a customer, to notify such customer that parental control protections are commercially available that may assist the customer in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Establishes the Commission on Online Child Protection to study and report to the Congress on methods to help reduce access by minors to Internet material that is harmful to such minors. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report. Title II: Children's Online Privacy Protection - Makes it unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children under age 13, or any operator that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child, to collect personal information from a child in a manner that violates regulations prescribed under this title. Protects such operator from liability for disclosures of such information to the child's parent. Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate regulations implementing such requirements. Outlines conditions under which verifiable parental consent shall not be required. Allows an operator to satisfy such regulatory requirements by following a set of self-regulatory guidelines issued by representatives of marketing or online industries or other approved individuals. Directs the FTC to provide incentives for such self-regulation. Requires expedited FTC response to requests from operators as to whether their self-regulatory guidelines are sufficient to satisfy the regulatory requirements. Authorizes the States to enforce such regulations by bringing actions on behalf of residents. Requires the appropriate State attorney general to first notify the FTC of such action. Authorizes the FTC to intervene in any such action. Provides for enforcement of this Act through the Federal Trade Commission Act. Directs the FTC to review and report to the Congress on the implementation of this title. M. Online Privacy Protection Act (2000) To require the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe regulations to protect the privacy of personal information collected from and about individuals who are not covered by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 on the Internet, to provide greater individual control over the collection and use of that information, and for other purposes. Online Privacy Protection Act of 2000 - Makes it unlawful for an operator of a Web site or online service to collect, use, or disclose personal information concerning an individual (age 13 and above) in a manner that violates regulations to be prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requiring such operators to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of personal information it collects from such individuals. Requires such regulations to require such operators to provide a process for such individuals to consent to or limit the disclosure of such information. Directs the FTC to provide incentives for efforts of self-regulation by operators to implement appropriate protections for such information. Authorizes the States to enforce such regulations by bringing actions on behalf of residents, requiring the State attorney general to first notify the FTC of such action. Authorizes the FTC to intervene in any such action. Provides for enforcement of this Act through the Federal Trade Commission Act. 3. Copyright Protection A. Copyright Act of 1976 1. Provides protection to authored work against copying. Originally, the Act protected authored work including: literary works, musical works, including any accompanying words, dramatic works, including any accompanying music, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, and architectural works. 2. The Computer Software Protection Act of 1980 specifically included computer software among the wroks protected. 3. The wrok is protected from the moment of its creation, not from the moment of its registratoin. Such work no longer has to be registered. All that is needed to protect a computer program under the Act is a standard notice that consists of the copy- right symbol, the date of cration, and the name of the author, or the copyright holder. 4. Copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the work. For example, a manual on how to use a machine can be copyrighted, but not the machine itself as it is not a form of expression. Moreover, another person may author a different manual which also describes how to use the same machine. If the form is different, it does not infringe on the copyright. 5. The copyright holder has the exclusive right to copy, print, record, sell, license, and otherwise distribute the work. 6. Authored copying without the author's permission: If the owner of a copy of a computer program makes or authorizes the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided: a. that such a new copy or adaptation is crated as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or b. that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purpose only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful. 7. It does not prohibit other developers from authoring a diffe- rent program that achieves the same effects. To have such protection, the author has to obtain a patent for the program. 8. The courts have accepted that the "Look and feel" of the software are protected under this Act. B. Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984. (Chapter 9, Title 17, United States Code) 1. To deter the unfair competing of firms which avoid the tremendous research and development costs involved in micro- chip design. 2. The circuits underlying the chips frequently do not have the novelty and unobviousness required by patent law and were considered too utilitarian to be covered by copyright. 3. The materials from which microchips are made are relatively cheap. So are the metal, wires, and plastic from which the computer is built. The intellectual effort that is put into the design of the chip is the main determinant of its cost. 4. Protection of the rights to this design guarantees a free market of computer chips without fear, on the owner's part, of unauthorized copying of the structure of he chip. C. Computer Software Rental Amendment Act of 1990. 1. Prohibits the rental of computer programs for the purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage without autho- rization by the owner of the copyright of the program. 2. Special needs of educational institutions and nonprofit libraries. The transfer of possession of a lawfully made copy of a computer program by a nonprofit educational institution or to faculty, staff, and students does not constitute rental, lease, or lending for dierct or indirect commercial purpose. Nonprofit libraries are permitted to lend a computer program for nonprofit purposes provided each copy of the program is affixed a warning. The copyright warning should be according to the prescription of the Register of Copyrights. 3. The last permission (to Libraries) is risky. Borrowers of software may easily make illegal copies in their homes. Of course, the success of its implementation depends on the individuals borrowing the programs. 4. Therefore, the statute leaves the door open for reconside- ration, after consultation with copyright owners and lib- rarians. The Act was in effect until 9/30/1997. the Registr of Copyrights, after consultation with represen- tatives of copyright owners and librarians, shall submit to the Congress a report about the continuation of this Act. D. Patent Website: WWW.USPTO.GOV 1. US Laws US Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 "Congress shall have power ... to promote the science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries" The first patent law was enacted in 1790. The patent laws underwent a a general revision in 1953 and codied into Title 35, US Code. Additionally, on 11/29/1999, Congress enacted the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999(AIPA), which further revised the patent laws. The patent law specifies the subject matter for which a patent may be obtained and the conditions for patenability. The law establishes The United States Patent and Trademark Office to administer the law relating to the granting of patents and contains various other provisions relating to patents. 2. Treaties Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property adhered by 140 countries. It provides that each county guarantees to the citizens of other countries the same rights in the patents and trademark matters that it gives to its own citizens. It also provides for the right of priority in the case of patents, trademarks and industrial design (design patents). This right means that, on the basis of a regular first application filed in any member countries, the applicant may, within a certain time period, apply for protection in all other member countries. These later applications will then be regarded as if they had been filed on the same day as the first application. Thus, these later applications will have priority over application for the same invention that may have been filed during the same time period by other persons. Moreover, these later applications will not be invalidated, on the basis of the first application, by any acts accomplished in the interval, such as publication or exploitation of the invention, the sale of copies of the design or use of the trademark. Patent Cooperation Treaty of 1978 adhered to by some 90 countries facilitates the filing of applications of patent on the same invention in member countries by providing, among others, for centralized filing procedures and standardized application format. Under the US law, in many cases of inventions made in the United States, it is necessary to obtain a license from the Director of USPTO before applying for a patent in a foreign cuntry. 3. Differences among copyright, patent and trademark a. Patent A patent for an invention is a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years (except 14 years for Design Patent) from the date on which an application for the patent was files in the United States or in special cases from the date an earlier related application was files. US patent grants are only effective in the US, US Territories, and US Possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments are available. The right conferred by a patent grant is "the rights to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing. Once a grant is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without the aid of the USPTO. There are three types of patents: Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture or compositions of matters or any new useful improvement thereof. (Primary patent) Design patent may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. Plant patent may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plants. b. Trademark or Servicemark A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of goods and distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks used in interstate or in foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO. c. Copyright Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original Works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works such as computer programming, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of copyrighted works, to perform copyrighted work publicly, or to display copyrighted work publicly. The copyright protects the "Form of Expressions" rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine can be copyrighted. But this will only prevent others from copying the description. It will not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyright is registered with the Copyright Office of the Lbrary of Congress. 4. Subject matter The patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that can be patented and the conditions under which a patent may be obtained. Any person who invents or discovers any new and useful process any new and useful machine any new and useful manufacture any new and useful composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof can obatain a patent, subject to the conditions and requirements of the law The word "process" is defined by law as a process, act, or method, and primarily includes industrial or technical processes. The word "manufacture" refers to articles that are made, and includes all manufactured articles. The term "composition of matter" relates to chemical compositions and may includemixtures of ingredients as well as new chemical compounds. These classes of subject matter taken together include practically everything that is made by man and processes for making the products. Exceptions: a. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 excludes the patenting of inventions useful solely in the utolization of special nuclear material or atomic energy for atomic weapons. b. Limits of subject matter that can be patented: mathematical formulas laws of nature physical phenomena abstract ideas All for lack of usefulness. 5. Required conditions: Useful Novel Non-obvious Useful: refers to the condition that the subject matter has a useful purpose and also includes operativeness, that is, a machine that will not operate to perform the intended purpose would not be called useful and therefore would not be patented. Novel: New and innovative as an invention cannot be patented a. if the invention was known or used by others in this country or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country before the invention thereof by the applicant for the patent, or b. if the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the application for patent in the United States. Non-obvious: Sufficiently different from most similar inventions. For example, the substitution of one color for another or changes in sizes are not ordinarily patentable. 6. Nature of patent and Patent rights The patent is issued in the name of the United States under the seal of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is either signed by the Director of the USPTO or is electronically written thereon and attested by an Office offficial. The patent contains a grant to the patentee, and a printed copy of the specification and drawing is annexed to the patent and forms a part of it. The grant confers "The right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States" and its territories and possessions for which the term is generally 20 years from the date of the application filed in the United States or if the application contains a specific reference to an earlier filed application, from the date of the earliest such application and subject to the payment of maintenance fees as provided by law. The patent does not provide the right to make, use, offer for sale, or sell or import the inventionbut only grants the exclusive nature of the right. Any person is ordinarily free to make, use, offer for sale, or sell or import anything he/she pleases, and a grant from the government is not necessary. The patent only grants the right to exclude others from just doing that. Since the patent does not grant rights to do those things, the patentee's own right to do so depends on the rights of others and whatever general laws might be applicable. A patentee, merely because he/she has received a patent for an invention, is not thereby authorized to do those things if doing so would violate any law. An inventor of a new automobile who has obtained a patent thereon would not be entitled to use the patented automobile in violation of the laws of a state requiring a license, nor may a patentee sell an article, the sale of which may be forbidden by a law, merely because a patent has been obtained. The term (20 years for utility and plant patents, 14 years for design patent) can be extended or adjusted for certain pharmaceuticals and for certain circumstances as provided by law. A maintenance fee is due for all utility patents 3 1/2, 7 1/2 and 11 1/2 years after the original grant was issued when the application was filed after 12/12/1980. 7. Design Patent: Non-functional or non-structural a. To any person who has invented any new and non-obvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture. This patent only protects the appearance of an article but not its structural or functional feature. b. Normally, a term of 14 years and no maintenance fee required. 8. Plant Patent. a. To anyone who has invented and discovered and asexually reproduced any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. b. Asesually propagated plants are those that are reproduced by means other than from seeds, such as by the rooting of cuttings, by layering, budding, grafting, inarching, etc. c. As for Tuber-propagated plants for which a patent cannot be obtained, the term "Tuber" is used in its narrow horticultural sense as meaning a short, thickened portion of an underground branch. Examples of these tuber-propagated plants include the Irish potato and Jerusalem artichoke. d. Term is 20 years and no maintenance fee required. 9. Some US Code Titles: Title-5: Government Organiation and Employees Section552: Freedom of Information Act of 1966 Freedom of Information Reform Act of 1986 Electronic Freedom of Information Act of 1996 Title-12:Banks and Banking Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 Title-15:Commerce and Trade Fair Credit reporting Act of 1970 Computer Security Act of 1987 Title-17:Copyright Copyright Act of 1976 Computer Software Protection Act of 1980 Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 Title-18:Crimes and Criminal Procedure Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 Title-35:Patent American Inventors Protection Act of 1999.