Legal and Ethical

In 1988 the copyright designs and patents act was created. The purpose for this being created was to
ensure people were rewarded for their hard work, and also to give the creator protection, if their
work is ever taken without consent.
Before this act was introduced, people couldnt really take any action if their work was stolen. The
law that was created covers various types of primary multimedia, but the main focus is to protect
ICT work from being stolen. Anything that someone created and is taken without permission means
the copyright law has been breached.
The law itself focuses on different variations of primary multimedia and its main focus is protecting
ICT work since it is much easier to plagiarise and claim as your own. It applies to some different
components such as text, images, videos, mp3 and songs. So if you take anything that was not your
own creation and take it for yourself without permission is subsequently a breach of this copyright
law.
The laws of copyright are enforced automatically in the UK currently. This will last for a whole
lifetime and an extra 70 years after the creator dies. After the 70 years has passed, it will more often
or not be passed down to the creators next of kin, or heirs. There have been situations where the
copyright is not solely with a single person. Situations like this can be hard to detect but if you do
actually use a primary asset without permission from the primary holder, you could be in serious
danger since you are violating the copyright law. The holder is the only one who can approve any
duplication of work in a separate party, even if the work is being placed on an electronic device. If
they are authorized to do any work, then they will keep the copyright for themselves until both
parties come to different agreement stating differently. However, if visual creators have not signed
an agreement stating that they are working for themselves, then the employer is the one who will
actually retain the copyright.
Images are also another way where someone can plagiarise someone elses creation. However,
there is an option where the copyright owner can let the image be used freely by anybody. However,
on different circumstances, strict rules may be put in there by the holder specifying where and when
the image may be used, so its essential to read the rules that the holder has placed on that
particular asset. However, there is another option which counters this, which is the ability to
purchase the asset, ensuring that you have the right to use it, but that doesnt necessarily mean
youve brought the copyright as well.

People can also plagiarise by using videos. However, videos are harder to plagiarise because they will
have very strict copyright rules, and are similar to images in the way that the copyright holder may
allow the video to be used by anyone, although they may implement rules which restrict where and
when the video can be used, and if these rules are broken, then you will be in trouble. You could
purchase the video but you havent actually brought the copyright yourself if you do that, you have
brought the right to use that particular video.

If you purchase a software package it doesnt mean you have brought the copyright to it, but what
you have done is purchased a licenced to use that software legally. You are allowed to use it
whenever you please, as stated by the company. The licence normally allows you to use that
software on one computer only. However, if you were then to put a disk into another computer and
download it on to that computer as well, you have then effectively breached the licence and
committed an illegal offence. You would need to purchase another licence to use on another
computer. Companies also sell a package which enables numerous people to use the software at the
same time, also known as a multi user licence. When the number of people that can use the
software all at once is met, no one else is able to use the software until one user logs off. If more
people use the software than the licence initially states, it will then result in an infringement of the
agreement, which is illegal and then it will begin to become a problem. Schools, colleges and
businesses will benefit from having multi user packages as many students may need to use the
software all at once. The chances of places complying with the laws will increase when they see a
multi user package available to purchase. There is also another upgrade, known as a site licence
which means the software is eligible to be loaded on every computer in a business or a school, and
everyone can use it with no worries whatsoever. The site licence versatility is a key reason why it is
commonly used.
I will need to consider all of this during the creation of my product and make sure that the client is
informed if any of this is breached.

Ethical
Restrictions and rules always apply in regards to what can be said what exactly can be done. This is
done to protect people from discriminating comments such as racism, which can seriously offend
someone and create huge problems.
The internet is not a place where you can escape these rules and get away with it. Its obviously
easier to break these rules online, because there is no realistic checking of the content that is put
online by the authorities. However, things can always be tracked, because not everything is
acceptable nowadays.
You have to be extremely careful that you do not breach the Obscene Publications Act by
containing obscene content in the product.
You cannot contain abusive information about any individual which could have an impact on their
reputation. This is Libel.
You cannot include a verbal statement about any individual which could be interpreted as abusive or
could negatively affect their reputation. This is Slander.
You need to be careful when representing or describing a particular individual, and ensure that your
description is not biased or inaccurate.

When creating the product, I will have to take into account that specific language could be used that
may offend someone. This refers to race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, whether you are
working, middle or upper class, regionalism, and ageism. There is a way to make sure that I dont run
the risk of offending anyone. For racism, I will have to make sure that the text in my product does
not include any sort of word that could be perceived as a racist remark. I also need to ensure that
the product isnt biased towards a specific gender. To do this I will need to address both genders in
the product, by including activities that are popular for both genders. I will also need to make sure
that the text used in the product does not offend anyones sexuality, whether they are asexual,
heterosexual or homosexual. To do this I will ensure that the text does not contain any word that
could be interpreted in the wrong way, as is the case for religion as well. For example, there may be
an activity or place to visit in the product that could offend certain religions, as different religions
vary in the fact that they all have different values and traditions. So I will need to be aware of this
too. For those with disabilities, I will have to make sure that the product is not biased in the way that
it cant be accessible for people with disabilities, i.e. visually impaired, so to avoid this I would need
to select the right colour scheme for the product. Also, I will make sure that any text that is in the
product does not contain any word which someone with a disability may find offensive. I will need to
make the product accessible for all classes, whether they are working, middle or upper. For example,
this could become an issue if the product is designed to run on software that only people that are
financially stable can afford, and run on their computer. So the software for the product will be one
that can be accessed by every type of class. Again, I will need to be careful of any language that
could offend a particular class. In addition to that, I will need to be careful of any phrases or words
that could offend people from a particular area of the country. This is the same for people who are
young or elderly. I need to make the product accessible for both youngsters and elderly people, and
make sure no phrases or words are used that could be considered offensive to them in the product.

This refers to:

Race (Black, white etc.)
Gender (male and female),
Sexuality (homosexual, heterosexual, asexual etc.)
Religion (C of E, Catholic, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Muslim etc.)
Disability (Able bodied and otherwise)
Class (working, middle or upper)
Regionalism (North and South)
Age (Old and young)

In all areas of media, there is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act which was introduced in 1988.
There are certain boundaries that websites need to stay within. Compared to other medias such as
newspapers and radio, the laws that govern advertisements on TV and on the web, can be strictly
regulated. Popular websites such as YouTube have strict content regulations that filter what can be
displayed on a site. There are many laws and guidelines that detail what websites and TV can
include. One of those is that you cant feature or star in someone elses video without their
permission. However, this law isnt the best to be honest, because there are some situations that
you cant avoid getting people in that you dont want to be there, such as filming in a crowd.