Chapter 6

Vignette (RIAA Fights Music Piracy)

Question to Consider

1. Is the RIAA’s strong stand on copyright infringement helping or hurting the music recording industry?

Answer:

The RIAA reserves the right to sue flagrant copyright offender, they stand also the copyright infringement that stands for a violation of the secured by the owner of a copyright. Infringement occurs when someone copies a substantial and material part of another’s copyrightened work without permission.

2. Could an ISP’s implementation and enforcement of the RIAA’s multitier strategy have a negative impact on the ISP?

Answer:

The ISP will either forward RIAA copyright infringement notices to its subscribers or notify its customers about the notices and ask them to cease desist. The ISP can take a series of escalating sanctions against repeat offenders, ranging from slowing down the subscriber’s network speed to terminating service. The RIAA reserves the right to sue flagrant copyright offenders.

Cases

Lotus vs. Borland

1. Go to your school’s computer lab or a PC software store and experiment with current versions of any two of the Quattro, Excel, or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet programs. Write a brief paragraph summarizing the similarities and differences in the “look and feel” of these two programs.

Answer:

Look and Feel example is the GUI or known as a Graphical User Interface by providing differences applications with a consistent set of intuitive user interface components. GUI enable users to spend less time trying to remember which keystroke sequences perform what functions, freeing up time that can be spent using the program in a productive manner.

2. The courts took several years to reverse their initial decision and rule in favor of Borland. What impact did this delay have on the software industry? How might things have been different if Borland had received an initial favorable ruling?

Answer:

The ruling was welcomed by Borland, which would have found it extremely difficult to pay the estimated $100 million in damages sought by Lotus. Borland is still in business, providing products and services targeted to software developers, including a Borland version of the C++ programming languages.

3. Assume that you are the manager of Borland’s software development. With the benefit of hindsight, what different decisions would you have made about Quattro?

Answer:

I would made about Quattro, I would decided to be the same to be the same about company of lotus, because lotus has a significant for the software industry, which had been riddled with infringement lawsuit due to ambiguities in copyright law. And also lotus has a popular spreadsheet program.