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.