Which of the following is a legal and ethical practice?

Question

Options

• ACopying someone else's written work found on the Internet and presenting it as your
• BTrying shareware for free and paying for it only after you decide to keep using it.
• CDownloading copyrighted artwork and using it as a background on your Web site.
• DDownloading music and motion pictures as long as they are from a peer-to-peer

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  87% (26)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  7% (2)

Explanation

Option B is correct because shareware is specifically designed under a "try before you buy" model - the software owner explicitly grants permission to use it free during a trial period, with the expectation that users pay if they continue using it. This is both legally sanctioned and ethically sound.

Why the others are wrong:

• A is plagiarism and copyright infringement - presenting someone else's written work as your own violates both copyright law and academic/professional ethics.
• C violates copyright law - downloading and publicly displaying copyrighted artwork without a license or permission is infringement, regardless of whether you paid for the site hosting it.
• D is incomplete and misleading - peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are not a legal loophole; distributing or downloading copyrighted music and films without authorization is infringement regardless of the delivery method.

Memory tip: Think of the word share in shareware - the creator is sharing it with you under defined terms. Any time you use someone's creative or intellectual work beyond the terms they set (or without any terms at all), you're crossing into infringement territory.

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