AS · Practice questions · Copyright and software licensing

Read the licence.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on copyright and software licensing, with mark points.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge AS & A Level style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.

Keep these straight

Source, change, share, pay.

Copyright: the creator's legal right to control copying, distribution and modification; it lets them earn and encourages creation.
Free (FSF) and open source (OSI): source code given; may change and redistribute; copyleft keeps changes free.
Shareware: free trial, then pay; no source code. Commercial: pay for a licence; no source code; no copying.
Justify: match a feature of the licence to a need in the scenario.

Explain

[3 marks]

Explain why copyright legislation is needed for computer software.

Software can be copied easily, perfectly and at almost no cost. ✓
Without protection, others could copy, sell or claim the work as their own. ✓
Copyright lets the creator control copies and earn from the work, which encourages investment in new software. ✓

Recall

[2 marks]

Describe what is meant by shareware.

Software that is free to use for a trial period or with limited features. ✓
The user must pay to continue using it or to get the full version; the source code is not provided. ✓

Explain

[4 marks]

Compare software released under a Free Software Foundation licence with commercial software.

Free software: the source code is provided; commercial: it is not. ✓
Free software can be modified; commercial software cannot be changed by the user. ✓
Free software can be copied and redistributed; commercial software cannot be copied without a licence. ✓
Commercial software is paid for per licence; free software is usually obtained without a licence fee (though it may be sold). ✓

Apply

[4 marks]

A games company has developed a new game engine. It wants to earn money from the engine and does not want rival companies to see how it works. Identify the most suitable type of licence and justify your choice.

Commercial (proprietary) licence. ✓
Customers must pay for a licence, so the company earns money to cover development. ✓
The source code is not released, so rivals cannot see how the engine works. ✓
The licence forbids copying, modifying and redistributing the engine. ✓

Apply

[3 marks]

A university research team writes software to analyse climate data. They want other scientists around the world to check their methods and add improvements. Recommend a type of licence and justify it.

A free software (FSF) or open source (OSI) licence. ✓
The source code is available, so other scientists can check exactly how the analysis works. ✓
Others may modify and redistribute it, so improvements can be shared (copyleft keeps the improvements free). ✓

Analysis

[2 marks]

A student says: "Free software means software you do not have to pay for." Explain why this statement is not accurate.

In the FSF sense, free refers to freedom: to run, study, change and redistribute the software. ✓
Free software may be sold for a price, and some software that costs nothing (such as freeware) does not give these freedoms. ✓

Mark this once you have attempted all six and checked your working. It records a Practiced badge on the topic and adds a one-time bonus. Revealing the solutions alone does not count.