What laws govern the use of computers and data, and how do copyright and software licensing work?
The legislation relevant to computing: the Data Protection Act, the Computer Misuse Act, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and the principles of copyright and software licensing including open source and proprietary models.
An OCR H446 answer on the legislation relevant to computing: the Data Protection Act, Computer Misuse Act, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and the principles of copyright and software licensing including open source and proprietary models.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants the purpose of the four key pieces of computing legislation (Data Protection Act, Computer Misuse Act, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act), and the principles of copyright and software licensing including open-source and proprietary models. Expect "describe the purpose of this Act with an example breach" questions.
The answer
The Data Protection Act and the Computer Misuse Act
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and RIPA
Copyright and software licensing
Examples in context
A data breach that exposes customer records can lead to large fines under data protection law. Releasing malware or hacking a system is prosecuted under the Computer Misuse Act. Software piracy and unlicensed copying breach the Copyright Act, which is why licences specify permitted use. Lawful interception by authorities is governed by RIPA. OCR links this dot point to software types and licensing in section 1.2, to network security, and to the broader moral and ethical issues in the rest of section 1.5.
Try this
Q1. State the purpose of the Computer Misuse Act. [1 mark]
- Cue. To make unauthorised access to computer systems and data (and unauthorised modification) a criminal offence.
Q2. State two principles of the Data Protection Act. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: data processed lawfully and fairly, used only for the stated purpose, kept accurate, kept secure, not kept longer than necessary, individuals have rights over it.
Q3. State the difference between a proprietary and an open-source software licence. [2 marks]
- Cue. Proprietary grants only the right to use the compiled program (source kept secret, usually paid); open source provides the source code with the right to view, modify and redistribute it under the licence terms.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20196 marksDescribe the purpose of the Computer Misuse Act and the Data Protection Act, giving one example of an action that would breach each.Show worked answer →
Computer Misuse Act (up to 3): it makes unauthorised access to computer systems and data a criminal offence, covering unauthorised access (hacking), unauthorised access with intent to commit a further offence, and unauthorised modification of data (for example spreading malware). Example breach: gaining access to someone's account without permission, or writing and releasing a virus.
Data Protection Act (up to 3): it regulates how organisations collect, store and process personal data, requiring that data is handled lawfully and fairly, kept accurate and secure, used only for the stated purpose and not kept longer than necessary, with rights for the individual. Example breach: selling customers' personal data without consent, or failing to keep it secure so it is leaked. Markers reward the unauthorised-access purpose for the CMA and the personal-data principles for the DPA, each with a valid example.
OCR 20215 marksExplain how the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act protects software, and explain the difference between proprietary and open-source licensing.Show worked answer →
Copyright protection (up to 2): the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act gives the creator of original work, including software and its source code, the exclusive right to copy, distribute and adapt it, so copying or distributing software without permission (piracy) is illegal.
Proprietary versus open source (up to 3): a proprietary (closed-source) licence grants only the right to use the compiled software under set conditions, keeping the source secret and usually charging a fee. An open-source licence distributes the source code and grants the right to view, modify and redistribute it, often free, subject to the licence terms (such as sharing modifications). Markers reward the exclusive-rights purpose of copyright plus the use-only-versus-modify-and-share contrast between the two licensing models.
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