Data Protection, IPR & Licensing
Data protection
Personal data – name, Aadhaar, bank details, health records, photos – must be kept private and secure. Data protection means preventing unauthorised access, misuse or leak of such data. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 sets rules for organisations that collect personal data.
Intellectual property rights
Intellectual property is a creation of the mind – a story, song, software, invention, logo. IPR are the legal rights that let the creator control and earn from it.
Copyright, patent, trademark
| Copyright © | Patent | Trademark ™ / ® | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protects | Creative work: books, music, code, films | New inventions and processes | Brand name, logo, symbol, slogan |
| How obtained | Automatic on creation | Apply and get approved | Register |
| Example | A novel, a mobile game's code | A new battery design | The name and logo of a cola brand |
Violation of IPR
To use someone's work legally: take permission, buy a licence, use open-licensed material, and always cite the source.
Licensing
A licence is a legal document that tells users what they may and may not do with a work. Proprietary software (e.g. MS Office) gives a licence to use but not to copy or modify. Open licences give more freedom.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) licences let creators share work while keeping some rights. Symbols: BY (give credit), SA (share alike), NC (non-commercial), ND (no derivatives). Wikipedia text uses CC BY-SA.
Free and open-source software
Proprietary software
- Source code hidden
- Must buy a licence
- Cannot modify or share
- e.g. Windows, MS Office
FOSS
- Source code open
- Free to use, study, modify, share
- Licences: GPL, Apache, MIT
- e.g. Linux, LibreOffice, Python, Firefox
GPL (GNU General Public License) requires modified versions to stay open under GPL. The Apache licence allows use in commercial products as long as notices are kept.
Self-check
- A student copies a blog post into his project without naming the author. Plagiarism.
- Which IPR protects the logo of a shoe company? Trademark.
- Name two FOSS programs. Python, LibreOffice (also Linux, Firefox, GIMP).
