Paper 3: Computing and the law

Due: Thursday, Dec 1

Pick one of the of the following.

Rules for consumer software purchases
Propose a set of rules governing the purchase of "consumer" software. Your rules should specify

Consider ownership, backups, restrictions on how software is used, restrictions on what machine(s) it can be run on, sales/transfer/rent, liability for defects, changes in terms, lifetime of license. (You don't have to consider all these.) Finally, do consider allowable communication between the user and the company: license managers, collecting information, remote disabling, etc. Keep in mind whether there is any personal information you can't just "click away" access to.

OR

Propose a set of rules for when users of computer systems can be held criminally liable for "altering" those systems. Consider in particular when, if ever, one can be held liable for hacking a system one owns. Other issues are what constitutes "altering", whether there has to be any particular malicious intent (often difficult to prove), and how the rules apply to employees. You may also wish to consider when someone can be held financially liable (that is, can be sued).

In either case, you may cast your paper in the form of a proposed law, or a comment on appropriate hypothetical rules, or a comment on existing laws (eg UCITA).

Expected length: 3-4 pages (600+ words)