c. When a reader buys access to the information
d. When a reader has downloaded the information for future use
156. c. In using an online information service, readers do not purchase any piece of property; rather they buy access to the electronic information. After the access is permitted, the information is out of the control of the copyright owner and the publisher. For the most part, publishers have no way of knowing the final disposition of the material (that is, downloaded now or later or used now). For this reason, publishers consider information as used as soon as it reaches the reader.
157. What is the major downside to publishing information via digital media?
a. A series of contracts in the distribution chain.
b. Many layers of end users.
c. A series of data storage media employed by end users.
d. Any reader is a potential publisher.
157. d. Traditionally, copyright law does not give copyright owners rights to control the access that readers have to information. Copyright owners in the electronic world use contracts to impose restrictions to make sure that they are paid for every instance of access or use. Still, as a practical matter, these restrictions do not prevent unauthorized copying. After users have paid for one legitimate copy of something, there is often not much except moral suasion to prevent them making other copies. Digital information is easily copied and easily transmitted to many locations. These characteristics make electronic distribution an attractive publishing medium; but they have a flip side (downside); almost any reader is a potential publisher of unauthorized copies.
158. For libraries, the copyright law applies to which of the following?
a. Computer data
b. Mixed media
c. Computer programs
d. Digital information
158. c. Digital information allows libraries new ways to offer services, and completely new services to offer. Libraries have some uncertainties with regard to copyright laws. For example, libraries may not be the owners of the computer programs. Vendors often say that programs are licensed, not sold. The library, as a licensee rather than an owner, does not have the rights described in the copyright law; these are abrogated by the terms of the license. For example, the copyright law gives the owner of a computer program the right to make an archival (backup) copy under certain conditions.
Some provisions in the copyright law also deal with copying and other uses of computer programs, but do not specifically extend to digital information. Digital information includes multimedia or mixed media databases, which may include images, music, text, or other types of work. Digital information is not just words and numbers. Anything that can be seen or heard can be digitized, so databases can include music, motion pictures, or photographs of art works.
Copyright laws currently refer only to computer programs and not to data or digital information. Computer data is stored in the same medium as computer programs, and it would seem logical to treat them in the same way, but the argument remains that digital data does not fit the definitions currently set out in the copyright laws, so owners have no right to make archival copies. The two points raised here become even more complicated for libraries in the case of mixed-media works where printed material, digital data, computer programs, microfiche, and other forms might be packaged and used together.
159. Which of the following is not protected by copyright laws?
a. Program structure
b. Program sequence
c. Program organization
d. User interface
159. d. A court (case law) found that computer programs are protected under copyright against “comprehensive non-literal similarity,” and held that “copyright protection of computer programs may extend beyond a program’s literal code to its structure, sequence, and organization.” The court also said that user interface in the form of input and output reports are not copyrightable.
160. Which of the following is not copyrightable?
a. Formats
b. Databases
c. Program functions
d. Program code
160. a. A court (case law) held that formats are not copyrightable. Databases are protected under copyright law as compilations. However, copyright protection in a compilation does not provide protection for every element of the compilation. It extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, not to preexisting material used in the work. Both program functions and program code are copyrightable.
161. Which of the following Pacific Rim countries has trade secret protection provided for computer programs?
