@device(PostScript)
@Make(Plan)
@planhead(versiondate="6 November 1985",
          plansection="Section H.1",
          copyrightdate="1985",
          title="Protection of Third-Party Software",
          author="by J. H. Saltzer")

Most software vendors copyright their products and are concerned
about unauthorized copying.  They express their concerns in various
ways such as license agreements, copy-protection systems, and
aggressive enforcement programs.  Because Project Athena provides a
networked environment in which sharing of information and programs is
strongly encouraged, and because some students have a reputation for
being uncaring of copyright restrictions, vendors may feel there
is reason for special concern.  Occasionally, third-party software vendors
have requested that, as a condition of a license to Project Athena,
some kind of physical control be provided for their programs.
However, the common industry technique of controlling copying by
distributing programs on hard-to-copy diskettes would present a
distribution nightmare if applied to 25 different software packages
to be used on 1500 public workstations.  The contrast in convenience
of use between programs distributed that way and programs distributed
on demand over the network merely by typing their name would probably
eliminate the copy-protected programs from the field of competition.
In addition, any installation or repair procedure that involves a
visit to the workstation is quite unworkable at a scale of 1500 sites.

This part of the Athena Technical Plan describes a set of procedures
that Project Athena provides to protect third-party vendors' products
used on public workstations while at the same time not interfering
seriously with central distribution.  There are four components to
this protection plan:
@begin(itemize)
     -  General copyright awareness

     -  Specific notification of copyright

     -  Access control for disk-stored programs

     -  Recourse in the case of discovered violations
@end(itemize)
The four components should be thought of as a coherent whole, rather
than as four independent, free-standing approaches.

@heading(General copyright awareness)

One of the primary goals of Project Athena is to educate students in
the possibilities that computers open up.  Part of that goal includes
teaching students how to use computers responsibly.  To this end,
Project Athena has developed and publicizes a two-page statement of
"principles of responsible computer use."  One component of this
statement is a specific discussion of copyrighted programs, and the
responsibility of every user not to make unauthorized copies of such
programs.  A copy of the statement is attached to the end of this
section of the plan.

The statement is brought to the attention of students in several
ways:

@Begin(Enumerate)
It appears on the inside cover of all Project Athena "essential" documents, which are used by newcomers to acquaint themselves with the facilities that the project provides.

A copy is framed and posted in every room containing a cluster of Project Athena workstations.

It is published in the student newspaper, The Tech, at least once each school year.

The M.I.T@. catalog description of Project Athena mentions the statement of principles.
@end(enumerate)

These publicity measures provide some assurance that every M.I.T@.
student is likely to be aware of the statement of principles.  

@heading(Specific notification of copyright)

Every individual software package that is copyrighted should provide
a copyright notice in two places.  First, the documentation that
describes the software should have a copyright notice that
specifically mentions that the software should not be copied.
Second, the program itself should display a copyright notice, perhaps
in the first screen of output.  This on-line notice serves as a
reminder to every user that the program is not to be copied, and it
ties in with an assurance given in the statement of principles that
software that is considered proprietary will be so identified.

In addition, a notice in a public bulletin board file (and on UNIX
file servers, in a read-only file named /etc/licenses) lists all
software that is licensed to Project Athena, and any special
conditions associated with its use.  Thus a student who wishes to know
of the license status of a particular vendor's package has an easy
way of determining that status.  Since some software is listed in
this file as being public domain or as having blanket copy permission for anyone associated
with M.I.T@., students have an incentive to know of the existence of
the file and to examine it.

@heading(Access control for disk-stored programs)

The mechanism of storage and distribution of software within Athena
consists of a small number of network-attached file servers that hold
copies of that software.  These file servers act as libraries,
extensions of the local disks of the workstation.  When a user
invokes some program, the system reads the program into the local
memory of the workstation, where it is executed.  The fact that the
disk copy is remote rather than local is invisible to the operating
system as well as the user.

However, before being able to use such a library, the workstation
must open a connection to it, at which time the library server requires
that the workstation present authenticated credentials as to the
identity of the current user of the workstation.  The library server
then accepts or refuses the connection, as appropriate.  A library
server that contains programs licensed for general Athena use would
accept connections from any legitimate Athena user, but would refuse
connections from network users who cannot provide Athena credentials.
A library server that contained programs licensed for use only by
one M.I.T@. subject would accept connections only from M.I.T@. students
who are registered in that subject.

The reader is referred to the description of Kerberos, the Athena
authentication and authorization system, for detailed descriptions
of the mechanics of identification and credential checking.

Some Athena workstations are not network-attached, or are remotely
located and attached only via low-speed lines.  Those workstations
are supplied by Athena with removable media containing copies of the
software they are licensed to use, and we expect their users to copy
that software onto the local hard disk of the workstation.  


@heading(Recourse in the case of discovered violations)

If an individual is discovered violating copyright licences, M.I.T@.
will deal with the incident by using internal disciplinary measures
involving either the Dean for Student Affairs and the Committee on
Discipline or other officers and committees of the Institute depending
on whether the individual is a student or nonstudent member of the
M.I.T@. community, respectively.  M.I.T@.  reserves the
right to determine whether to pursue any particular incident, and it
generally will not reveal such disciplinary activity to outside
parties.  As a general guideline, the copying of copyrighted software
for use on unauthorized machines is regarded by M.I.T@. as an offense
comparable to theft of equipment of like value.

As an aid to enforcement, M.I.T@. recommends that its vendors place a
unique identification label inside the software provided to Project
Athena.  Software so labeled is relatively easy to identify as to its
source, unless someone takes extensive steps to locate and eliminate
all such identification.  If a vendor finds an illicit copy that it
suspects has been pirated from a Project Athena workstation, that
copy may be traceable as to source, and such a trace may be useful
either in prosecution or in suggesting that M.I.T@. take internal
disciplinary action.


@newpage

@MajorHeading(Appendix:  Principles Of Responsible Use Of Project Athena)

Project Athena is a five-year experiment in the use of a large,
networked computer system as part of the educational process at M.I.T.
Athena's distributed computer system will open up entirely new ways for
members of the M.I.T. community to share information.  One consequence
of linking the entire community together, however, is the potential for
improper use of the system, a violation of M.I.T.'s high standards of
honesty and personal conduct.

@Heading(Intended Use)

The hardware granted to Project Athena, and the software licensed for
that hardware, are intended only for educational use by M.I.T. community
members.  Use of Athena resources by anyone outside M.I.T. requires
approval of the Provost, and the sale of such use is prohibited.  The
use of Athena resources for financial gain is similarly prohibited.  Use
of Project Athena's facilities for sponsored research activities that
normally would make use of other M.I.T. facilities is not permitted,
except by permission of the Director.

@Heading(Privacy and Security)

The UNIX@+[@Y<T>] operating system used by Project Athena facilities sharing
of information and software among its users.  Security mechanisms for
protecting information from unintended access, from within the system or
from the outside, are minimal.  These mechanisms, by themselves, are
inadequate for a community the size of M.I.T.'s, for whom protection of
individual privacy is as important as sharing.  Users must supplement
the system's security mechanisms by using the system in a manner that
preserves the privacy of others.

For example, users should not attempt to gain access to the files or
directories of another user without explicit authorization from that
user (unless that user has intentionally made them available for public
access).  Nor should users attempt to interept any systems
communications, such as electronic mail or terminal dialog.  Programs
should not store information about other users without the users' prior
knowledge.  Personal information about another individual, which a user
would not otherwise disseminate to the M.I.T. community, should not be
stored or communicated on the system without the other individual's
permission.  Such information includes grades, evaluation of students,
and their work.

@Heading(System Integrity)

Actions taken by users intentionally to interfere with or to alter the
integrity of the system cannot be permitted.  These include unauthorized
use of accounts, impersonation of other individuals in systems
communications, attempts to crack passwords or encryption, and
destruction or alteration of data or programs belonging to other users.
Equally unacceptable are intentional efforts to restrict or deny access
by others to any of the resources of the system.

@Heading(Intellectual Property Rights)

Some software and databases that reside on the system are owned by users
or third parties, and are protected by copyright and other laws,
together with licenses and other contractual agreements.  Users must
abide by these restrictions.  Such restrictions may include prohibitions
against copying programs or data for use on non-Athena systems or for
distribution outside M.I.T., against the resale of data or programs or
the use of them for noneducational purposes or for financial gain, and
against public disclosure of information about programs (e.g., source
code) without the owner's authorization.  It is the responsibility of
the owner of protected software or data to make any such restrictions
known to the user.