Ethical Challenge of Protecting Software in Emerging Economies: Copyright Law and Enforcement in Pakistan :: Software Technology Protection Essays

Ethical Challenge of protect Software in Emerging Economies Copyright Law and Enforcement in Pakistan adit The United States and Pakistan have similar laws protecting packet using right of first publication and patents despite creation at very different stages of scotch development. Pakistan has an rising economy with a per capita GDP of $2000 per capita and a literacy rate of 46%.i The US has a more mature economy with per capita GDP of $37,600 and a 97% literacy rateii. Despite having similar laws regarding copyright and patent protection Pakistan has rampant plagiarism problems not seen in the US. It is estimated that 95% of digital media sold in Pakistan is piratediii. This whitethorn be in part due to the high cost of software relative to income compared to US where software piracy exists moreover is less rampant. This var. raises the question Is it ethical to apply the same rules to two countries regardless of economic condition and industry maturity and what is the global effect of having the same laws but enforcing them differently?BackgroundTwo primary methods for protecting software throughout the world are patents and copyrightiv. Each provides a different measure of protection. The mark of each is to promote the sharing of new inventions and creative works man ensuring that the developer of the work is compensated. Copyright provides the copyright holder rights to the work for 75 long time after creation or 50 beyond authors death whichever is shortest. It not only protects the actual syntax of the code from being copied but covers structure, sequence, and organization of the program. This is to prevent people from simply rewriting an lotion in another programming language. Copyright, as applied to more handed-down written works such as books and songs provide for modal(a) subroutine by others. Fair use means that others can use a small portion of a copyright protected work without authority for certain reasons such as e ducation or critical commentary. The fair use clause is not really applicable to software because it is grand that a small portion of a computer program would be used in the situations covered by the fair use clause. This is an typesetters case of stretching an existing law to cover new technology. Patents protect software in a different way by giving the designer rights to the process performed by the protected program.