1. The Computer Misuse Act of1990 The Copyright, Designs & Patents Act of 1989 www.ICT-Teacher.com

2. This section applies to current British legislation and its relationship to the Council of Europe Convention directives. Software and data misuse: Describe the provisions of the Computer Misuse Act. Describe the principles of software copyright and licensing agreements.

3. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 The widespread use of computers and computer systems and the misuse of them in the 1980’s led to a law making it a criminal offence to do certain things. The Act covers a variety of misuses that couldn’t be covered by the existing laws of the time. These include: –Deliberate damage by planting viruses –Using computers to carry out unauthorised work –Copying computer programs –Hacking into a system to view private information –Various frauds including stealing money from banks

4. The Computer Misuse Act Covers: Unauthorised access to computer programs or data; Unauthorised access with a further criminal intent; Unauthorised modification of computer material (programs or data).

5. Three Specific Offences Section 1: –he/she causes a computer to perform any function with the intent to secure access to any program or data held in that computer and: –the access attempted to secure is unauthorised and: –he/she knows at that time that it is unauthorised. The maximum prison sentence is 6 months.

6. Offences Section 2: –Committing an offence under section 1 with the intent of committing a further offence such as blackmail, theft etc, even if they get someone else to do it for them. The maximum prison sentence is 5 years.

7. Offences Section 3: –Committing an offence under section 1 and causing actual modification of the contents which results in: –Any impairment of the operation of the computer –Prevention of access to a program or data –Impair the operation of a program or the reliability of data. The maximum prison sentence is 5 years.

8. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1989 covers: Illegal copying of software. Illegal running of copyright software on more than one machine unless covered by the licence. Illegal for an organisation to encourage or pressure its employees to copy of distribute illegal software.

9. Software Copyright The illegal copying of software Illegal transmission of software over a telecommunications line creating a copy. What are the consequences of illegal use of software? Consider the writers, the manufacturers, and the marketing companies. Microsoft Office ’97 was copied and sold for £3 in Russia. Data paid for and collected by one organisation may be of value to other organisations.

10. Copying Software The copying of software is in breach of the licence you agree when you first load the program. This is policed by the local councils and the police. Software companies will take individuals or businesses to court if they find out that their copyright has been breached. The police are entitled to remove all equipment which has illegal software running on it. For a company this could mean the removal of the entire computer system and disastrous consequences for business. It normally would mean the business would collapse.

11. Licensing Agreements When buying a computer program you are buying the right to use it, not to own it. You are bound by the rules of the manufacturer. There are different types of licensing agreements: –public domain –shareware –demonstration The above are free to use but still come with restrictions, and almost always ban copying.

12. What is: Public domain, Shareware, and Demonstration software? Are you able to legally copy your software program from your desktop to your laptop? When you upgrade your computer to a modern version do you need to buy the software again? Are you entitled to sell your copy of MS Excel to your friend, 1) if you have removed it from your computer; 2) if you have kept a copy on your computer?

13. Software Piracy Software piracy can be defined as "copying and using commercial software purchased by someone else". Software piracy is illegal. Each pirated piece of software takes away from company profits, reducing funds for further software development initiatives.