The Literary Works Of The First Century Romans - 993 Words

Understanding ancient civilizations is always a hard process. The only resources that are readily available, are the texts written by people of the times. But which helps better the understanding of the society and political structures: historical or literary works? The first century Romans are a great example of this. The literary works of the first century Romans, help further the knowledge about the ancient civilization. While the historical works do show a lot of the facts from the era, the literary works possess more information about the people s lives in that time. The political aspects of the Romans were very advanced. The government system they had set up, was better than any of the other civilizations of the time. (Virgil, Aeneid) Under the rule of Augustus, the Romans were at some of the strongest times of the empire s existence. The empire in this time conquered most of the known world. They were not a force to be taken lightly. Virgil connected the political aspects of h is time to the Greek gods quite often. He would reference the Roman empire as being strong and mighty much like the gods. (Virgil, Aeneid) He also described the empire as always in a state of tranquility, order, and emotional stability. (Virgil, Aeneid) Augustus was also highly regarded to during his reign. One historical fact from the Aeneid that Virgil mentions, would be the hatred between Carthage and Rome. This was truly a big struggle during the ancient Roman times. The way that VirgilShow MoreRelatedSummary of Medieval and Renaissance Criticism1505 Words   |  7 PagesMedieval Age. In England, this period spans eight centuries and historians place it from the year of composition of Beowulf in 725 AD to 1474 AD when Caxton published the first book ever printed. The only standard work that dealt with Medieval Criticism is English Literary Criticism: The Medieval Phase by J.W.H Atkins published in 1952. One major development in this age is the adoption of Christianity as the religion of the Mediterranean region. Roman Catholicism prevailed in Western Europe. ClassicalRead MoreSimilarities Between Roman And Roman Cinema1506 Words   |  7 PagesNumerous influences established Roman theatrical entertainment. Etruscan and Greek antecedent are what predominantly shaped ancient Roman entertainment. Etruscans were people who lived in modern day Tuscany and parts of Umbria (Beacham, 1991). Rome inherited all attributes of the Etruscan religious festivals, where various theatrical performances were given, ranging from acting to chariot racing. For instance these carnival-like festivals occurred to please the gods though theatrical offerings. AnotherRead MoreAncient Greek And Romes Impact On Western Literature1642 Words   |  7 Pages The impact greek and roman culture had on western civilization The ancient Greeks and Romans were two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. The two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a large amount of wealth within these two cultures. It is because of this that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and many other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’sRead MoreLiterary Elements Essays1167 Words   |  5 PagesPeter Scott Ms. Wiggins Honors English 10 1st Block O3/09/11 â€Å"Literary Elements of Wharton’s ‘Roman Fever’† Peter Scott Scott 1 03/09/11 Ms. Wiggins 1st Block â€Å"Literary Elements of Wharton’s ‘Roman Fever’† The short story, â€Å"Roman Fever† by Edith Wharton, reveals numerous popular literary elements. Some of the most prominent examples of literary elements are irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing. All three elements create the feel and atmosphere of the shortRead MoreJames M. Cain s Double Indemnity Essay855 Words   |  4 PagesJames M. Cain’s Double Indemnity is a typically literary work of roman noir genre, adapted for a film later. The story itself is about a premeditated murder planned by the married femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger and her secret lover Walter Huff, specifically consistent with roman noir genre. Phyllis Nirdlinger is a typical femme fatale in this novel. She seduces the insurance agent Huff regardless of her own husband. For example, â€Å"She pulled me to her and kissed back† (Cain ch2), â€Å"I liked you allRead MoreWhat a Writer Needs to Capture Historical Event770 Words   |  3 Pagesand 16th centuries. The Renaissance gets its name from the French word ‘rebirth’, which is what the Renaissance is seen as by bringing back the great ancient Greek and Roman works. From the lesser known writers such as Thomas Decker and Samuel Daniel to the more famous such as Sir Thomas Wyatt and William Shakespeare, all the writers contributed greatly to the literary achievements of the Renaissance. It is important to understand what the Renaissance was. After the fall of the Roman Empire inRead MoreChristianity And The Christian Church1473 Words   |  6 Pageshimself, in fulfillment of ancient scripture. Over the next few centuries the life works and teachings of this individual were recorded and spread across the globe, making up the cornerstone of Christ’s most important legacy, Christianity. It is a religion shaped entirely around Jesus’ personal philosophies and ideologies that has forever shaped the course of human history. In order to appreciate the importance of Christianity, first an understanding of the religion itself must be reached. The ChristianRead MoreThe Identity of the Satyricons Author1732 Words   |  7 PagesAn issue which has been debated by scholars for centuries, the identity of the Satyricon’s author can be seen to be resolved through Tacitus’ obituary of one Petronius, an adviser to the Emperor Nero on taste and luxury. Petronius, according to various sources, was celebrated at Rome for his refined taste which attracted the attention of the Emperor Nero; however his high position in Roman elite society was eventually taken away because of Tigellinus’ conspiracies and machinations. The SatyriconRead More12 Literary Piece1670 Words   |  7 Pages12 Literary piece that have Influenced the World 1. The Bible or the Sacred writings: This has become the basis of Christianity originating from Palestine and Greece 2. Koran: The Muslim bible originating from Arabia 3. The Iliad and the Odyssey: These have been the source of Myths and Legends of Greece. They were written by Homer. 4. The Mahabharata: The Longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion in India. 5. Canterburry: it depicts the religion and customs ofRead MoreGreece s Influence On Roman Society And Consciousness Essay947 Words   |  4 PagesGreece’s influence on Roman Society and Consciousness Rome’s ability to Assimilate Rome became a master at assimilating other cultures’ technology and ideas, often adding their own, Rà ³man upgrades and refinements. This was demonstrated by Rome’s addition of the covus to the quinquereme warship design which they had copied from the Carthagà ­nians, leveraging the Etruscan arch in new ways, such as supporting huge aqueducts, and building on Greece’s concept of theater construction to create the Colosseum

Example of a Permutation Test

One question that it is always important to ask in statistics is, â€Å"Is the observed result due to chance alone, or is it statistically significant?† One class of hypothesis tests, called permutation tests, allow us to test this question. The overview and steps of such a test are: We split our subjects into a control and an experimental group.  The null hypothesis is that there is no difference between these two groups.Apply a treatment to the experimental group.Measure the response to the treatmentConsider every possible configuration of the experimental group and the observed response.Calculate a p-value based upon our observed response relative to all of the potential experimental groups. This is an outline of a permutation.  To flesh of this outline, we will spend time looking at a worked out example of such a permutation test in great detail. Example Suppose we are studying mice.  In particular, we are interested in how quickly the mice finish a maze that they have never encountered before.  We wish to provide evidence in favor of an experimental treatment.  The goal is to demonstrate that mice in the treatment group will solve the maze more quickly than untreated mice.   We begin with our subjects: six mice.  For convenience, the mice will be referred to by the letters A, B, C, D, E, F. Three of these mice are to be randomly selected for the experimental treatment, and the other three are put into a control group in which the subjects receive a placebo. We will next randomly choose the order in which the mice are selected to run the maze. The time spent finishing the maze for all of the mice will be noted, and a mean of each group will be computed. Suppose that our random selection has mice A, C, and E in the experimental group, with the other mice in the placebo control group. After the treatment has been implemented, we randomly choose the order for the mice to run through the maze.   The run times for each of the mice are: Mouse A runs the race in 10 secondsMouse B runs the race in 12 secondsMouse C runs the race in 9 secondsMouse D runs the race in 11 secondsMouse E runs the race in 11 secondsMouse F runs the race in 13 seconds. The average time to complete the maze for the mice in the experimental group is 10 seconds. The average time to complete the maze for those in the control group is 12 seconds. We could ask a couple of questions. Is the treatment really the reason for the faster average time? Or were we just lucky in our selection of control and experimental group?  The treatment may have had no effect and we randomly chose the slower mice to receive the placebo and faster mice to receive the treatment.  A permutation test will help to answer these questions. Hypotheses The hypotheses for our permutation test are: The null hypothesis is the statement of no effect.  For this specific test, we have H0: There is no difference between treatment groups.  The mean time to run the maze for all mice with no treatment is the same as the mean time for all mice with the treatment.The alternative hypothesis is what we are trying to establish evidence in favor of. In this case, we would have Ha: The mean time for all mice with the treatment will be faster than the mean time for all mice without the treatment. Permutations There are six mice, and there are three places in the experimental group. This means that the number of possible experimental groups are given by the number of combinations C(6,3) 6!/(3!3!) 20. The remaining individuals would be part of the control group. So there are 20 different ways to randomly choose individuals into our two groups. The assignment of A, C, and E to the experimental group was done randomly.  Since there are 20 such configurations, the specific one with A, C, and E in the experimental group has a probability of 1/20 5% of occurring. We need to determine all 20 configurations of the experimental group of the individuals in our study. Experimental group: A B C and Control group: D E FExperimental group: A B D and Control group: C E FExperimental group: A B E and Control group: C D FExperimental group: A B F and Control group: C D EExperimental group: A C D and Control group: B E FExperimental group: A C E and Control group: B D FExperimental group: A C F and Control group: B D EExperimental group: A D E and Control group: B C FExperimental group: A D F and Control group: B C EExperimental group: A E F and Control group: B C DExperimental group: B C D and Control group: A E FExperimental group: B C E and Control group: A D FExperimental group: B C F and Control group: A D EExperimental group: B D E and Control group: A C FExperimental group: B D F and Control group: A C EExperimental group: B E F and Control group: A C DExperimental group: C D E and Control group: A B FExperimental group: C D F and Control group: A B EExperimental group: C E F and Control group: A B DExperimental group: D E F and Control group: A B C We then look at each configuration of experimental and control groups. We calculate the mean for each of the 20 permutations in the listing above.  For example, for the first, A, B and C have times of 10, 12 and 9, respectively.  The mean of these three numbers is 10.3333.  Also in this first permutation, D, E and F have times of 11, 11 and 13, respectively.  This has an average of 11.6666. After calculating the mean of each group, we calculate the difference between these means. Each of the following corresponds to the difference between the experimental and control groups that were listed above. Placebo - Treatment   1.333333333 secondsPlacebo - Treatment   0 secondsPlacebo - Treatment   0 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -1.333333333 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 2 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 2 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment   0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -0.666666667 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -2 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -2 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 1.333333333 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 0 secondsPlacebo - Treatment 0 secondsPlacebo - Treatment -1.333333333 seconds P-Value Now we rank the differences between the means from each group that we noted above. We also tabulate the percentage of our 20 different configurations that are represented by each difference in means. For example, four of the 20 had no difference between the means of the control and treatment groups. This accounts for 20% of the 20 configurations noted above. -2 for 10%-1.33 for 10 %-0.667 for 20%0 for 20 %0.667 for 20%1.33 for 10%2 for 10%. Here we compare this listing to our observed result. Our random selection of mice for the treatment and control groups resulted in an average difference of 2 seconds. We also see that this difference corresponds to 10% of all possible samples.  The result is that for this study we have a p-value of 10%.

Natural Law And Legal Positivism - 1116 Words

The contrast between Natural Law and Legal Positivism is a necessary starting point for those who wish to understand the relationship between law and morality, and the most varied manners in which it influences society to this day. When it comes to analyzing which theory offers the most well-rounded idea of law, one can argue that Legal Positivism provides the best definition of what law is at its essence. However, because Legal Positivism came to exist as a critique to what was proposed by Natural Law theorists, it is significant that both are explored in depth as means to support such argument. Natural law theory is based on human nature and its predisposition to do good. The determination of what’s good and evil, however, is often drawn†¦show more content†¦In fact, it argues that at times, it is possible that for the law to be immoral. The biggest difference between the writings of Austin and Hart might be that the former while setting the framework for a plausible theory, fails to elaborate on its most basic premises. Hart expanded on legal positivism by enhancing the theory suggested by Austin and making it more credible, all while debunking natural law theory. One example is the manner in which Austin argues that the concept of law is subject to the command of a higher authority backed by threats. Although this is a way in which law can be presented, it is also a simplistic definition. Hart argues that although Austin’s definition of the law might be applicable to criminal law, it fails to justify other variants of legal process such as contracts or marriage licenses. He argues that â€Å"Such laws do not impose duties or obli ­gations. Instead, they provide individuals with facilities for realizing their wishes, by conferring legal powers upon them to create, by certain specified procedures and subjec t to certain (p. 27)† It is difficult to associate laws such as the ones concerning marriage to the idea of a command backed by threat. The differentiation between laws that grant liberties when compared to those that might take them away is something that is not taken into account by Austin or explored in depth by natural law theorists such as Aquinas. TheShow MoreRelatedLegal Positivism and Natural Law815 Words   |  3 PagesLegal positivism and natural law These are two legal philosophies or theory of law that are commonly used in the daily arguments and discussions of the legal issues. These two, in as much as have the observance of the law as the common factor, have varied or divergent approach to law as a discipline and as a practice. Natural law This is divided into two major subsections with the first being natural law theory of morality; this deals with what is right and what is wrong. The second beingRead MoreThe Natural Law Theory And Legal Positivism1698 Words   |  7 Pagesperspectives are known as the Natural Law theory and Legal Positivism. Natural law theorists claim that morality and law A significant debate on this topic was stimulated by Wolfenden Report 1957 in England which led to the famous debate between H.L.A Hart and Lord Devlin . The report is about the recommendation of legalising homosexuality and prostitution as law should not intervene within everyone’s private lives. This view was supported by Hart as he believed that the law should not enforce moralRead MoreLegal Positivism Over Natural Law Theory982 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscusses the conceptions of legal normativity, both moral and â€Å"strictly legal† conceptions. According to Spaak, regarding the normative force of legal justification, legal positivists can still embrace the moral idea and not be in conflict with their generally held belief in the â€Å"strictly legal† concept of law. In Torben Spaak’s opinion, there is a reason to desire legal positivism; he explains this through introducing the concept of jurisprudence. When discussing the nature of law, Spaak stat es, â€Å"thatRead MoreThomas Aquinas, Natural Law And Legal Positivism710 Words   |  3 PagesMorals and Laws. It is important to distinguish these differences by the assertion and denial of them. In the book The Concept of Law there are two types of relations, Natural law and Legal Positivism. Natural Law is defined as â€Å"certain principles of human conduct, awaiting discovery by human reason, which man-made laws must conform to if they are to be valid (Hart 2012 p.185-186).† Legal Positivism is defined as â€Å"the simple contention that it is in no sense a necessary truth that laws reproduce orRead MoreThe Distinction Between Natural Law And Legal Positivism Essay1747 Words   |  7 Pages scrutinize and define the distinction between natural law and legal positivism. I will make distinctions regarding advantages and disadvantages of the definitions of the theories of natural law and legal positivism. By focussing on slavery as an example I will be looking at vari ous theorists and their theories thereby attempting to make sense and find clarity in this regard. Furthermore to understand the aspects of natural law and legal positivism, one has to understand the theories of Cicero, ThomasRead MoreThe Difference Between Natural Law and Legal Positivism Essay example1756 Words   |  8 PagesBETWEEN NATURAL LAW AND LEGAL POSITIVISM This essay is going to discuss and analyse the differences between two basic principles- natural law and legal positivism. According to Hume, there are two realms of human enquiry , one in the field of facts which is concerned with what ‘ is ‘ actually the case and the other in the field of ‘ought’ that is, what ought to be the case1. Those who believe in the principle of natural law are known as naturalists while those who believe in the principle of legal positivismRead MoreNatural Law Enforces Human Rights907 Words   |  4 PagesNatural Law enforces human rights. When we look at abortion s laws we see between a legal system based on the legal theory of natural law the law that comes from God s nature and inherent right and wrong as He defines it furthermore a legal system based on legal positivism (law is derived from whatever man says is law - no inherent right and wrong). Prior to the turn of the 20th century, legal philosophy from whence laws were derived in the Western world was based upon a natural law theory. ARead MorePositivism : The Ruling Theory Of Law944 Words   |  4 Pagesegal positivism is the name given to the school of juristic thought, which includes such luminaries of philosophy as Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), John Austin (1790-1859) and HLA Hart (1907-1992). Philosopher Ronald Dworkin once described legal positivism as the ruling theory of law. Since the time of Bentham and Austin legal positivism was the dominant theory and was held by most legal scholars in one way or another and was also the working theory of most legal practitioner’sRead MoreThe Second World War1598 Words   |  7 Pagesthat they weren’t guilty of a crime as they were obeying the law of Nazi Germany . Consequently, the trial revived the broader question of whether laws which are inherently immoral can be considered valid law. Moreover, the trial generated fresh debate within jurisprudence, in turn leading many to criticise the previously prominent ideas of Legal Positivism , which in layman’s terms separated law from morality and credited as valid law any bill provided it had gone through the recognised legislativeRead MoreLegal Positivism Vs. Law Of Nature1285 Words   |  6 PagesLegal Positivism v. the Law of Nature Legal philosophy has changed dramatically throughout the years; many theories have evolved and are still supported to this day. Concepts such as values, morality, desires, and reason all come into play when law is defined. Law is a very difficult word to define; what exactly is it and where does it come from? To understand the idea of law, one must also understand how humans have evolved. From the beginning, humans have been forming groups for survival; either

Software Licensing Essay Example For Students

Software Licensing Essay In 1993 worldwide illegal copying of domestic and international software cost $12.5 billion to the software industry, with a loss of $2.2 billion in the United States alone. Estimates show that over 40 percent of U.S. software company revenues are generated overseas, yet nearly 85 percent of the software industrys piracy losses occurred outside of the United States borders. The Software Publishers Association indicated that approximately 35 percent of the business software in the United States was obtained illegally, which 30 percent of the piracy occurs in corporate settings. In a corporate setting or business, every computer must have its own set of original software and the appropriate number of manuals. It is illegal for a corporation or business to purchase a single set of original software and then load that software onto more than one computer, or lend, copy or distribute software for any reason without the prior written consent of the software manufacturer. Many software mana gers are concerned with the legal compliance, along with asset management and costs at their organizations. Many firms involve their legal departments and human resources in regards to software distribution and licensing. Information can qualify to be property in two ways; patent law and copyright laws which are creations of federal statutes, pursuant to Constitutional grant of legislative authority. In order for the government to prosecute the unauthorized copying of computerized information as theft, it must first rely on other theories of information-as-property. Trade secret laws are created by state law, and most jurisdictions have laws that criminalize the violations of a trade-secret holder=s rights in the secret. The definition of a trade secret varies somewhat from state to state, but commonly have the same elements. For example, AThe information must be secret, Anot of public knowledge or of general knowledge in the trade or business, a court will allow a trade secret to b e used by someone who discovered or developed the trade secret independently or if the holder does not take adequate precautions to protect the secret. In 1964 the United States Copyright Office began to register software as a form of literary expression. The office based its decision on White-Smith Music Co. v. Apollo , where the Supreme Court determined that a piano roll used in a player piano did not infringe upon copyrighted music because the roll was part of a mechanical device. Since a computer program is textual, like a book, yet also mechanical, like the piano roll in White-Smith, the Copyright Office granted copyright protection under the rule of doubt. In 1974, Congress created the Natural Commission on New Technological Uses (CONTU) to investigate whether the evolving computer technology field outpaced the existing copyright laws and also to determine the extent of copyright protection for computer programs. CONTU concluded that while copyright protection should extend beyond the literal source code of a computer program, evolving case law should determine the extent of protection. The commission also felt copyright was the best alternative among existing intellectual property protective mechanisms, and CONTU rejected trade secret and patents as viable protective mechanisms. The CONTU report resulted in the 1980 Computer Software Act, and the report acts as informal legislative history to aid the courts in interpreting the Act. In 1980 The Copyright Act was amended to explicitly include computer programs. Title 17 to the United States Code states that it is illegal to make or to distribute copies of copyrighted material without authorization, except for the user=s right to make a single backup copy for archival purposes. Any written material (including computer programs) fixed in a tangible form (written somewhere i.e. printout) is considered copyrighted without any additional action on the part of the author. Therefore, it is not necessary that a copy of the software program be deposited with the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. for the program to be protected as copyrighted. With that in mind then a copyright is a property right only. In order to prevent anyone from selling your software programs, you must ask a court (federal) to stop that person by an injunction and to give you damages for the injury they have done to you by selling the program. The Software Rental Amendments Act Public Law 101-650) was approved by Congress in 1990, this Act prohibits the commercial rental, leasing or lending of software without the express written permission of the copyright holder. An amendment to Title 18 to the United States Code was passed by Congress in 1992. This amendment. Known as Public Law 102-561 made software piracy a federal offense, and instituted criminal penalties for copyright infringement of software. The penalties can include imprisonment of up to five years, fines up to $250,000 or both for unauthorized reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies of software with a total retail value exceeding $2,500 or more. Under United States law duplicating software for profit, making multiple copies for use by different users within an organization, and giving an unauthorized copy to someone else is prohibited. Under this law if anyone is caught with the pirated software, an individual or the individual=s company can be tried under both civil and criminal law. A Civil action may be established for injunction, actual damages (which includes the infringer=s profits) or statutory damages up to $100,000 per infringement. The criminal penalties for copyright infringement can result in fines up to $250,000 and a jail term up to five years for the first offense and ten years for a second offense or both. When software is counterfeit or copied, the software developer loses their revenue and the whole software industry feels the effect of piracy. All software developers spend a lot of time and money in developing software for public use. A portion of every dollar spent in purchasing original software is funn eled back into research and development of new software. Software piracy can be found in three forms: software counterfeiting, which is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted software in a form that is designed to make it appear to be a legitimate program; Hard disk loading, whereby computer dealers load unauthorized copies of software onto the hard disks of personal computers, which acts as an incentive for the end user to buy the hardware from that particular dealer; and downloading of copyrighted software to users connected by modem to electronic bulletin boards and/or the Internet. When software is pirated the consumer pays for that cost by new software and/or upgrade version being very expensive. Federal appellate courts in the U.S. have determined that operating systems, object code and software cotained in ROMs are protected by copyright, and some lower federal courts have also determined that microcode (the instructions set on microprocessor chips), and the look and feel of computer screens is subject to copyright protection. Which leads to the problems of the widespread development of multimedia applications that has brought out major problems in clearing copyright for small elements of text, images, video and sound.. The United States Government has been an active participant in protecting the rights of the software industry. When the Business Software Alliance (BSA) conducts a raid, Federal Marshals or local law enforcement officials participate also. An organization known as the Software Publishers Association (SPA) is the principal trade association of the PC software industry. SPA works closely with the FBI and has also an written enforcement manual for the FBI to help them investigate pirate bulletin board systems and organizations (audits). With the help of the FBI, the result of enforcement actions resulted in recoveries from anti-piracy actions totaling $16 million since the program started in 1990. Challenges and opportunities in agricultural marketing Essay2. Implement a software codes of ethics for everyone to adhere to. The ethics should state that copyrighted software, except for backup and archival purposes, is a violation of the law. 3. Establish a procedure for acquiring and registering software. Determine your companies software needs, evaluate software packages, and also have supervisors approve the plans. Keep the lines of communication open. 4. Establish and maintain a software log. The log should state the date of when the software was acquired, the registration of it, serial number, network version, location of where the software is in use, where the original is, licensing agreement and the location of the original disks. 5. Conduct periodic audits or on a as needed basis comparing the software log and/or other purchase records. 6. Establish a program to educate and train your employees about every aspect of software and its uses. 7. Maintain a library of software licenses and provide users with copies of the agreement. 8. Having done the above seven points, the company can benefit by having obtained software legally, receive full documentation, technical support when needed and also upgrade notices. Patents do not cover specific systems, instead they cover particular techniques that can be used to build systems or particular features that systems can offer. Patent grants the inventor a 17 year monopoly on its use. Once a technique or feature is patented, it may not be used in a system without the permission of the patent-holder even if it is implemented in a different way. Since a computer program usually uses several techniques and provides many features, it can infringe many patents at once. A computer program is built out of ideal mathematical objects whose behavior is defined, not modeled approximately, by abstract rules. An example of this is Borland International, Inc. complained in the 1st Federal District Court gave Lotus Development Corp. the benefit of patent protection to Lotus 1-2-3 menu commands and their order, but failed to require Lotus to meet the requirements of patent law, including novelty, examination and contribution to the prior art. The Supreme Court sid ed with the 1st Circuit decision that one entity cannot own the user interface to programs. Meaning such as file formats, menu structures and programming languages. Software license agreements emerged as the most popular means of protection of proprietary rights in computer software. They coexist with other forms of intellectual property rights as patent and copyright. Software license agreements serve several functions in transactions involving the transfer of computer technology. One of the most important legal functions is the protection of the proprietary rights of the licenser in the transferred software. Other functions include controlling the revenue generated by licensed software and determining the rights and responsibilities of the parties regarding the performance of the licensed technology. Issue related to these functions include the applicability of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, including offer and disclaimer of warranties, determining the appropriate types of licenses to utilize, such as single users/CPU licenses, Site/enterprise licenses and network/concurrent licensesTrade secret, copyright and patent law are emailpr otected forms of protection in the sense that they may exist independently of any underlying business transactions and do not necessarily require any transfer of intellectual property from one party to another. Whereas, the need for a license agreement usually arises as one of the contractual forms of protection when the underlying business transaction involves the transfer of intellectual property, such as computer software. Transactions involving the transfer of computer software are subject to both federal and state laws. Generally, state law governs contractual and trade secrets aspects of the transaction, while federal law governs aspects related to patent, copyright and antitrust issues. Each state has its own version of a doctrine of a trade secret, the common thread through these state-specific laws is that if you show that you are seriously treated information as confidential and that the confidential information helped your competitive position, you can stop others from us ing it if the information was improperly acquired by them, and even collect damages from the wrongdoers. A computer is useless without software. The two types of software typically found on a computer are operating systems software and application software. Operating system software emailprotected emailprotected that makes it easier to develop programs for the system by reducing the amount of code that must be written. The operating system acts as an interface between the computer hardware, application programs and the end user. Application software consists of one or more computer program that fulfill a specific function for the user like word processing, bookkeeping or financial analysis. Two legal cases recently within the last few years has brought to light the controversy regarding the copyright protection of software elements. Until 1992, most of the federal courts followed the decision in Whenlan v Jaslow Dental Laboratory as a precedent of similar cases. Whenlan, a small software company wrote a accounting program for Jaslow Dental Laboratory company. Jaslow rewrote the software to run on personal computers and proceeded to sell the product. The software was identical to Whenlans in the data structures, logic, and the program structure, except for the source code. Jaslow argued that the duplicated elements were part by the of the idea not the expression. The court in response felt that the data structures, logic, and the program structure comprised to make a single function of a computer program, therefore copyright protection should be given to those elements also. In 1992, this protection was weakened by Computer Associates v. Altai, Inc. , when Altai a softw are developer was accused of copying various modules of a software package developed by Computer Associates which controlled the running of applications on IBM mainframes. The court rejected Whelan=s premise that a computer program embodies one function because programs are made up of sub-routines that contain their own idea. The court recognized this would narrow the scope of software copyright protection and found this in accordance with Congressional intent of computer programs with copyright. This resulted in why currently software copyright is not as broad as it once was. Bibliography:Brandel, William, Licensing stymies users, URL:http://www.viman.com/license/license.html#policy, Viman Software, Inc., 1994. Business Software Alliance, Software Piracy and the Law, URL:http://www.bsa.org/bsa/docs/soft_pl.html, Business Software Alliance, 1995. Software Publishers Association, SPA Anti-Piracy Backgrounder, URL:http://www.spa.org/piracy/pi_back.htm, Software Publishers Association, 1995.