Free, source-code-available, or proprietary

Journal of Current Trends in Computer Science Research , 2024

This article addresses the pressing issue of software thieving by using a software-update case study to examine the underlying ethical challenges in software production and usage. A proposed foundational framework highlights four critical factors: 1) the application of force, 2) the taking of resources, 3) knowledge processing, and 4) direction setting. This approach enables a comprehensive global analysis of the ethical dimensions in software development and use, contrasting voluntary exchanges with those compelled by thieving. Focusing on a case study of a large manufacturer, these foundational factors are applied to both individual and organizational behavior. The core challenge identified is the temptation for individuals and organizations to exploit the ease of force-driven resource acquisition rather than adhering to foundational ethical guidelines. Traditional reliance on published codes of ethics for moral reassurance is found to be inadequate, particularly within complex organizational structures where key decisions are pre-determined before employees are tasked with their execution. The foundational approach reveals the susceptibility of organizations to distorted and high-ignorance-content interpretations of law and ethics. This article outlines potential solutions to enhance ethical adherence, emphasizing the need for robust ethical guidelines that permeate all levels of decision-making within organizations.

Ethics and Information Technology, 2009

Abstract To many who develop and use free software, the GNU General Public License represents an embodiment of the meaning of free software. In this paper we examine the definition and meaning of free software in the context of three events surrounding the GNU General Public License. We use a case involving the GPU software project to establish the importance of Freedom 0 in the meaning of free software. We analyze version 3 of the GNU General Public License and conclude that although a credible case can be made that the ...

Handbook of Research on Open Source …, 2007

2007

Ethics and Information Technology, 2009

SCRIPT-ed, 2006

What is the status of the Free and Open Source Software (F/OSS) revolution? Has the creation of software that can be freely used, modified, and redistributed transformed industry and society, as some predicted, or is this transformation still a work in progress? Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software brings together leading analysts and researchers to address this question, examining specific aspects of F/OSS in a way that is both scientifically rigorous and highly relevant to real-life managerial and technical concerns. The book analyzes a number of key topics: the motivation behind F/OSS-why highly skilled software developers devote large amounts of time to the creation of "free" products and services; the objective, empirically grounded evaluation of software-necessary to counter what one chapter author calls the "steamroller" of F/OSS hype; the software engineering processes and tools used in specific projects, including Apache, GNOME, and Mozilla; the economic and business models that reflect the changing relationships between users and firms, technical communities and firms, and between competitors; and legal, cultural, and social issues, including one contribution that suggests parallels between "open code" and "open society" and another that points to the need for understanding the movement's social causes and consequences. "This important and wide-ranging collection illuminates the social, economic, technical, and legal processes propelling the fantastic growth of free and open source softward.

Economic Theory, 2004

Organizational Information Systems in the Context of Globalization, 2003

Abstract: Although there is evidence of wide-spread organizational and societal adoption of open source and free software (OS/FS) products, processes, philosophy and business models, our understanding of OS/FS in the organizational and societal contexts is still quite limited. In this panel, we seek to stimulate an open and productive conversation by articulating the key research questions which have informed, and emerged from, the study of the socio-cultural, legal, ethical and policy issues associated with OS/FS.

Within the IS literature there is little discussion on selling software products in general and especially from the ethical point of view. Similarly, within computer ethics, although there is much interest in professionalism and professional codes, in terms of accountability and responsibility, the spotlight tends to play on safety-critical or life-critical systems, rather than on software oriented towards the more mundane aspects of work organisation and society. With this research gap in mind, we offer a preliminary ethical investigation of packaged software selling. Through an analysis of the features of competition in the market, the global nature of the packaged software market and the nature of product development we conclude that professionalism, as usually conceived in computer ethics, does not apply particularly well to software vendors. Thus, we call for a broader definition of professionalism to include software vendors, not just software developers. Moreover, we acknowledge that with intermediaries, such as implementation consultants, involved in software selling, and the packaged software industry more generally, there are even more " hands " involved. Therefore, we contend that this is an area worthy of further study, which is likely to yield more on the question of accountability.

The John Marshall Journal of Information Technology Privacy Law, 2011