ahaan team teach

team teaach

• 5 min read

Popcorn Hack 1: Ways to Protect Intellectual Property

  1. Patents
    • Protects inventions and innovative technologies
    • Gives exclusive rights for a limited time (typically 20 years)
    • Requires novelty, non-obviousness, and usefulness
  2. Copyrights
    • Protects original creative works (literature, music, art, software)
    • Automatically applies when work is created
    • Lasts for author’s life plus 70 years (in most countries)
  3. Trademarks
    • Protects brands, logos, and distinctive signs
    • Distinguishes products/services from competitors
    • Can be renewed indefinitely as long as in use
  4. Trade Secrets
    • Protects confidential business information
    • Examples: formulas, processes, customer lists
    • Protected through non-disclosure agreements

Popcorn Hack 2: MIT License

Definition of MIT License

The MIT License is a permissive open-source software license that allows users to freely use, modify, distribute, and sell the software with minimal restrictions. It grants users extensive rights while requiring only that the original copyright notice and permission notice be included in all copies or substantial portions of the software.

What an MIT License for Your Own Repo Would Look Like

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Daksha Gowda

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the “Software”), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Creative Commons License Definition

A Creative Commons (CC) license is a public copyright license that enables free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. CC licenses are used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon their work while maintaining certain rights. Unlike traditional “all rights reserved” copyright, Creative Commons licenses offer “some rights reserved” flexibility.

Types of Creative Commons Licenses:

  • CC BY: Attribution (credit the original creator)
  • CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike (credit and license new creations under identical terms)
  • CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivs (credit and no modifications)
  • CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial (credit and non-commercial use only)
  • CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
  • CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
  • CC0: Public Domain dedication (no rights reserved)

  1. Fair Use: Limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

  2. Educational Exceptions: Special provisions for educational institutions to use copyrighted works for teaching purposes.

  3. Public Domain: Works whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable.

  4. Transformative Use: Creating something new that alters the original work with new expression, meaning, or message.

  5. First Sale Doctrine: Allows the purchaser of a copyrighted work to sell, display, or dispose of that particular copy.

  6. Library and Archive Exceptions: Special provisions for libraries and archives to make copies for preservation and replacement.

How Open Systems Lower Intellectual Barriers

Systems like Creative Commons, open sourcing, and open access contribute to knowledge sharing by:

  • Democratizing Knowledge: Making information accessible to those who cannot afford traditional publishing fees or subscriptions.

  • Accelerating Innovation: Allowing researchers and developers to build upon existing work rather than starting from scratch.

  • Encouraging Collaboration: Creating communities where improvements and modifications benefit everyone.

  • Promoting Transparency: Open code and open research methods can be reviewed, validated, and improved by others.

  • Global Impact: Removing geographical barriers to accessing information, particularly important for developing regions.

These systems create ecosystems where knowledge can flow more freely while still providing frameworks for attribution and proper use of intellectual work.

Homework Hack : Choosing a License for Personal Repo

Task 1: Select a License

For my personal repository containing the San Diego Hospital Recommendation Service, I’ve selected the Apache License 2.0.

Task 2: Explain Your Choice

I chose the Apache License 2.0 for my hospital recommendation project because it provides strong patent protection clauses that are crucial when dealing with healthcare-related technology implementations. This license grants users freedom to use the code commercially while requiring them to preserve copyright notices, which helps maintain attribution as the project potentially grows in the healthcare community. The explicit patent grant in Apache 2.0 offers additional legal protection against patent litigation, which is especially important in the healthcare sector where intellectual property concerns are significant. Additionally, the license’s clear terms on trademark usage ensure that my project’s identity remains protected even as others build upon or modify the recommendation algorithms and data processing components.

Task 3: Add the License to Your Repository

completed

I discussed with [Partner’s Name] and we came up with the following ways to prevent copyright infringement:

  1. Obtain Proper Licenses - Purchase or acquire appropriate licenses for content you want to use.

  2. Ask for Permission - Contact the copyright holder directly to request permission before using their work.

  3. Use Creative Commons Materials - Search for and use content that has Creative Commons licenses which explicitly allow certain uses.

  4. Utilize Public Domain Works - Use works that are in the public domain and free from copyright restrictions.

  5. Create Original Content - Develop your own original work rather than copying others’.

  6. Provide Proper Attribution - When allowed to use copyrighted material, always properly cite and attribute the original creator.

Partner’s Name: Thomas Bao