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International Software Copyright
International Software Agreement is a Matter of National Security
Is there one governing law concerning international software copyright? According to agreements by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP) any software written has an automatic copyright. This is a pretty conclusive consensus as far as an international copyright goes. The short answer would have been yes, but this was so much more informative.
An international software copyright should not however be confused with a patent. Copyrights provide creators with the ability to prevent others from directly copying the code involved. A patent can actually limit the use of the software. Because of this, I'm sure you'll understand that patents are a hotly debated topic when it comes to software.
The biggest thing to know about international software copyright is that your code is essentially protected the moment you create it. This is, unless you have some kind of contract through your employer that all code created by your belongs to them (these cases have been known to happen and provide excellent incentives for employees to always read the fine print).
The problem that many companies are running into when it comes to enforcing international software copyright is that computers are not permanent fixtures in a company. Computers are rather disposable hardware when it comes to keeping up with evolving technologies and software needs to be updated when new computers are purchased. Rather than purchasing new copies of software when the computers are replaced companies are notorious for reusing old copies of the software. They are also famous for replacing 10 computers with the software installed with 40 new computers and installing the 10 copies of the software on all 40 computers. This is not in keeping with international software copyright. This is stealing and you'd be surprised at some of the good upstanding companies that do this on a regular basis.
There really are no major differences between traditional policies for American copyright and international software copyright which makes legal issues, troubles, and woes that much easier to deal with. By having a unified international front thee are ramifications and legal actions that can be taken around the world without going through a great deal of international red tape. If you think dealing with the American government is bad, you should see how much fun it is to deal with the American government and another government for a legal action.
The agreement between nations for international software copyright is probably one of the soundest possible decisions that can be made as military secrets of all governments have some degree of software in order to keep them operating. While it isn't quite as simplistic as stealing a computer program to unlock the defense secrets of a nation, having access to certain source codes could be problematic in the absolute best-case scenario. Keeping secrets isn't the only thing that makes this agreement so valuable, it is however, one of the most vital.
Perhaps one of the greatest things to come about as the result of the international agreement to protect and honor software copyright is the peace of mind that is available to software developers in America and other technologically advanced countries that their source code won't be allowed to be stolen and used against them at a later date by someone in a developing nation with cheap labor and other overhead costs that American corporations simply cannot compete with. This could be devastating to the economies of technological societies if it were allowed to happen and the agreement for an international software copyright prevents that from being allowed to occur.
The History of Writing (history of writing) Writing is commonly used by billions of people each day. However, many of us don’t know the history of writing, and some of us would rather not ponder it for fear of getting a headache. Written communication is much needed today, and many societies could not survive without writing. Writing has a history like everything that is in existence today. The exact history of this form of communication may be clouded and even over exaggerated at times, but there are two known facts, writing has been used for a very long time and writing will be used for a very long time. The true beginning of writing is unknown, but it does have a comprehensive history. The first artistic paintings and writings were said to be done in the form of naturalistic paintings of animals and people in caves. The pictures were known as attempts to appease the spirits of animals that were needed to kill in the hunt. In ancient times pictures were also done of human beings. These pictures of humans were typically done in series, with a figure appearing in different physical positions progressively, which represented positions a ceremonial dance performed by ancient people. Progressively, the early societies began to stylize their messages, which were similar to using symbols to represent restrooms, handicap-accessible places, and international road signs. These stylized symbols are known a petroglyphs and hieroglyphs. The most famous system of hieroglyphs belonged to the ancient Egyptians who had hieroglyphics that were partially representational pictures that were stylized. Petrogylphs were often used by Native Americans as messages along trade routes, ritual information, and various other things. However, they were not as sophisticated as hieroglyphs. During this ancient period, Europeans preserved esoteric knowledge in runes and in an alphabetic writing system known as ogham. The Chinese culture also has a place in the history of writing. The culture began by writing like many others by using pictures then slowly moving to stylized pictures. However, over time the pictures became less representational and more abstract. Today, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other Asian languages are written with the use of ideeographs. An ideeograph is used to represent an idea instead of a word. Around 1700 B.C. a new form of writing appeared in the Middle Eastern cultures. During this time, the Phoenicians created an alphabet. This development was different from all others because the symbols represented sounds, not pictures or ideas. The combinations of sounds made up the words of the language, which was crucial in the history of writing. The alphabet developed by the Phoenicians spread to Northern Africa and became the system of the Arabs, and spread northwest to Greece. The Greek developed their own letters, which were modified even more to become the Cyrillic alphabets of Russia, the Balkans and the Romans. The Romans modified the alphabet and made it the alphabet that is recognized today. The history of writing developed even further into the 20th century. Following World War II, the Japanese and Chinese began to use the alphabet to represent the sounds of their languages. For these Asian cultures, the alphabetic system was easier to write by hand and to print economically, so it made life far simpler for those cultures. The artistic form of writing used by these Asian cultures will likely never die, but there are many advantages to using an alphabetic system, and many modern people of these cultures benefit handsomely from learning to read and write using the current alphabet. The history of writing is long and sometimes vague, but it can be seen as a necessary teaching that will help modern societies understand the importance of written communication, and understand how the world would be forever changed without it. Judging by Appearance – It Happens in the Workplace This is one of the old sayings that really does come true, the clothes do make a person. What does it mean? For many people, it means that people judge by the clothes you wear. This is especially true in the workplace, but also for everyday life. Many companies nowadays have a dress policy in place to keep the appearances at work up. Reasons why companies have dress policies are of a great variety. Here is a review. One of the biggest reasons for companies to require nice appropriate clothing at least in their office area is visiting customers. If your employees need to be in contact with customers on daily or weekly bases or if customers do visit your offices in general, it is important that your employees make a good first impression. First impressions are very much guided by what you are wearing, your facial impressions and body posture. Therefore, if your customer see your employees working on their desks, it is important that the employees are dressed appropriately. For most workplaces this means a button down or polo shirt, dress pants or casual dress pants. In some instances, it is important for the employees to wear a tie and suit. For women, the codes are equivalent what the style of the clothing is referring to. Imagine what would happen if a customer comes into a company and the employee receiving the customer wears dirty, spotty, old and ripped clothes. In society that does not make a good impression, then the customer will most likely not want to do business with you. Another reason of why companies and employers would judge by your appearance is called professionalism. In the picture of professionalism at the workplace includes good appropriate clothing. It belongs to being a good employee as much as doing your job right and being polite and respectful to your boss and colleagues at your workplace. In society much is judged by the way you dress. If you have ever walked into one of the better department stores with a set of old, worn clothes, what kind of response do you get from the sales person? Often times they think you do not have enough money to buy here anyways and that is the way they treat you. They may not even give you the time of day, even if you have a lot of money. They judge you by what you have on and this is certainly the case in the workplace as well. If you want to project a good image, then take a good look at what you wear before you step out of your door in the morning. There are many places where a dress code is required or expected, such as the church, the opera, the theater, better restaurants and many other places. The workplace is just one of many and whether you like it or not, appropriate clothing is what can make or keep you get the job. Many Internet sites, books and people that offer advice on interviews and getting that job, will emphasize the importance of nice appropriate clothing and the impact it can have when you wear something that stands out from the crowd. Most people have been raised to think that proper dress attire is what you should wear at work, but for some it still is more a mystery to them than anything else. |