Practice · Legal Aspects and Professional Ethics

Q1

What does copyright protect in software?

A The expression — the source code, object code, documentation and UI texts as written B Every algorithm ever published C Only software registered with the government D The idea of matching students by free time

Q2

A competitor independently develops, without copying, a matching feature that works like StudyBuddy's. Which statement is correct?

A It infringes StudyBuddy's copyright, because the feature is similar. B It infringes StudyBuddy's trademark. C Independent creation does not infringe copyright; but if a patent covered the method, independent invention would be no defence against the patent. D Nothing can protect software.

Q3

Before launching, the team discovers that "StudyBuddy" is already a registered trademark of an education company. What is the risk?

A The app becomes a patent. B None; names cannot be protected. C The code becomes open source. D Using the name for similar products could infringe the trademark, forcing an expensive rename later — check trademarks before launch.

Q4

A company's valuable internal ranking algorithm is protected by limiting access and signing non-disclosure agreements, without patenting it. This is protection as a…

A trade secret B Creative Commons work C trademark D public-domain work

Q5

Who usually owns code a software engineer writes as part of their job at a company?

A Nobody B The engineer personally, always C The customers D The employer, in most countries, subject to the employment contract and local law

Q6

Omar finds a useful Java class in a public GitHub repository that has no licence file. Can StudyBuddy copy it?

A Yes, if it is less than 1,000 lines. B Yes, if the variable names are changed. C No, not without permission: without a licence, all rights are reserved by the author. D Yes; public code is free.

Q7

Which licence is permissive and includes an explicit patent licence?

A GPL v2 B Apache License 2.0 C No licence D AGPL v3

Q8

StudyBuddy's Android app, distributed through app stores under a proprietary licence, includes a library licensed under GPL v3. What is the consequence?

A None; GPL only applies to Linux. B They must pay the library author. C Distributing the combined app obliges the team to release the whole app under the GPL with its source — incompatible with a proprietary licence. D They only need to add a comment.

Q9

StudyBuddy's backend runs on the university's server and is never distributed. It uses a modified GPL v3 library. Compared with using an AGPL v3 library, what is the difference?

A GPL forbids servers. B With GPL v3, offering the service over a network is usually not distribution, so no source release is triggered; with AGPL v3, users interacting over the network must be offered the source of the modified version. C AGPL is more permissive than GPL. D No difference.

Q10

Which combination is considered incompatible in one distributed work?

A BSD code inside a proprietary program (with notices) B Apache 2.0 code inside a GPL v3 program C Apache 2.0 code inside a GPL v2-only program D MIT code inside a GPL v3 program

Q11

Which licence family requires that changes to the licensed files stay under the same licence, while your own separate files may use any licence?

A Proprietary B Weak copyleft, such as MPL 2.0 C Public domain D Permissive, such as MIT

Q12

Dr. Wang wants others to reuse and adapt his lecture slides with credit, but not commercially, and adaptations must use the same licence. Which licence fits?

A GPL v3 B MIT C CC BY-NC-SA D CC BY-ND

Q13

What is the position of the US Copyright Office on material generated entirely by AI without sufficient human creative control?

A It is automatically owned by the AI vendor. B It is not protected by copyright, because copyright requires human authorship; human selection, arrangement or modification can be protected. C It belongs to the government. D It is protected for 200 years.

Q14

An AI assistant suggests a 60-line function that is identical to code in a GPL-licensed project. What is the main legal risk for a proprietary product?

A The function will run slower. B Licence contamination: the product may now contain GPL code, with its obligations, even though nobody copied it knowingly. C The AI vendor owns the product. D None; AI output is always free of rights.

Q15

An open-source library says it is provided "AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND". What does this mean for StudyBuddy?

A The authors disclaim responsibility; StudyBuddy's team is responsible for choosing, testing and maintaining what it ships. B The library cannot be used. C StudyBuddy can sue the authors for any defect. D The library author will fix any bug for free.

Q16

What did the EU's revised Product Liability Directive (2024) clarify about software?

A Only hardware can be defective. B Software, including AI systems, is treated as a product, so producers can be liable for damage caused by defective software. C Software is never a product. D Open-source licences override all liability.

Q17

Under the EU AI Act, which StudyBuddy feature would be prohibited in the EU?

A A webcam feature that recognizes students' emotions during online classes to measure engagement B Buddy, a tutoring chatbot C A spam filter for posts D Deadline reminders

Q18

Under the EU AI Act, an AI system that evaluates learning outcomes or detects cheating during tests is classified as…

A high risk, with obligations such as risk management, documentation, human oversight, accuracy and conformity assessment B outside the scope of the Act C minimal risk D prohibited in all cases

Q19

What is the main AI Act obligation for Buddy as a chatbot (not grading anyone)?

A It must be switched off in exams only B A full conformity assessment by a notified body C Transparency: people must be informed that they are interacting with an AI system D None at all

Q20

Since 15 August 2023, China's Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services apply to…

A only foreign companies B only academic research that is never offered to the public C only hardware manufacturers D providers of generative-AI services to the public in China — covering content, personal-information protection, non-discrimination, labelling and complaints handling

Q21

Daniel finds that another university's course portal has an SQL-injection hole. To "prove it", he downloads 50 student records and emails them to the administrator. What is the problem?

A Only the email was a problem. B Nothing; he was helping. C He should have downloaded more records to be sure. D Accessing data without authorization is illegal in most countries even with good intentions; he should report through the organization's vulnerability-disclosure process without exploiting it.

Q22

A freelancer builds StudyBuddy's logo animation and part of the app. The contract says nothing about intellectual property. Who most likely owns the copyright?

A Nobody B StudyBuddy's team automatically C The app store D The freelancer, unless a written assignment or licence transfers the rights

Q23

A developer finds a serious vulnerability in a company's public website while using it normally. What is the most responsible action?

A Report it privately through the company's vulnerability-disclosure channel, without accessing data, and allow time for a fix. B Publish the details on social media immediately. C Exploit it to show the impact, then tell the company. D Sell it to the highest bidder.

Q24

Which principle is placed first in the ACM/IEEE-CS Software Engineering Code of Ethics?

A Client and employer B Public — act consistently with the public interest C Management D Self

Q25

In the Volkswagen emissions case (2015), what did the software do?

A It stole drivers' personal data. B It crashed on the road. C It had a buffer overflow. D It detected emission-test conditions and fully activated emission controls only then, so cars emitted far more pollutants in normal driving.

Q26

A 2023 Stanford study tested detectors of AI-generated text on essays by non-native English speakers (TOEFL essays). What did it find, and why does it matter at WKU?

A They falsely labelled more than half of the non-native essays as AI-generated; using them to accuse WKU students, who mostly write in a second language, would be unfair and discriminatory. B They were more accurate for non-native speakers. C They only worked on Chinese text. D The detectors were perfect for everyone.

Q27 Short answer

For each dependency, say whether StudyBuddy can use it (a) in the distributed Android app under a proprietary licence and (b) in the backend run only on the university server, and state the main obligation: MIT library; Apache 2.0 library; GPL v3 library; AGPL v3 library; a library with no licence.

Q28 Short answer

Your team lead asks you to add a hidden feature that makes Buddy's answer-quality statistics look better during the university's evaluation week (e.g., by answering only easy questions and silently refusing hard ones). Use the ACM/IEEE Code to analyse the request and describe what you would do.

Q29 Short answer

Write StudyBuddy's AI-generated code policy from a legal point of view (5–7 rules), covering copyright, licences, tool terms and records.

Q30 Short answer

Classify these StudyBuddy features under the EU AI Act (prohibited / high-risk / transparency / minimal) and give one obligation or consequence for each: (a) Buddy tutoring chatbot; (b) automatic grading of lab reports; (c) spam filter for posts; (d) webcam emotion analysis during online classes; (e) AI proctoring that flags suspected cheating during online exams.