Professor Bill Smith, who teaches computer science courses at Technical University in the United States, recently received an email from a graduate student in India, named Raj, who is working on a master’s degree in computer science. Raj notes in the email that he came across an abstract of a paper by Smith, which appears to be very important for a final project that is required for Raj to complete his master’s degree. Unfortunately, the library at the university where Raj is studying does not subscribe to the journal in which Smith’s paper is published. When Raj contacted the journal about purchasing the article, he was informed that the cost was $50 (US). Unfortunately, Raj does not have the money to pay for this article; so he asks Professor Smith if he would be willing to email him a copy for personal use (i.e. to read and reference in his project). Smith is eager to help Raj, but is also concerned about copyright issues in distributing the article electronically. Although Smith has a copy of the article (in PDF format) on his desktop computer, he is reluctant to send Raj an electronic copy because of his interpretation of the DMCA (described in Section 8.2 in Tavani). But Smith is conflicted because he is eager to help Raj. Smith also wishes to have his article available as widely as possible for scholars to use; furthermore, he believes that the publisher is charging Raj (and others) an excessive price for the article. What should Professor Smith do in this situation?
Write a 4 page paper exploring this issue described in Tavani. Take a position and defend it making use of the ethical process described in the first four chapters of Brown and Chapter 3 in Tavani. In addition use the philosophical theories utilitarianism, deontology and character-based as discussed in Tavani (chapter 2) and Brown (chapter 4) to support your arguments. You must demonstrate that you have read these materials by making at least 5 citations using both sources.
Use 1” borders, double spacing, and 12 point Times New Roman type. Check for all spelling errors, as papers with even one such error will not be graded. Be sure to have an appropriate introduction, logically reasoned arguments and a good conclusion. You may wish to consult the Academic Resource Center in Wahlstrom Library for assistance with writing mechanics.