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Concept of SOA and Cyber Laws
Software industry is now onto a new jargon called "SOA" or "Service Oriented Architecture" for Software. With the advancement of Networking technology and the use of resources spread over the Internet, software developers are looking for conserving their energies by sharing reusable components of code through various mechanisms. Initially the use of "libraries" that could be accessed by software processs was a concept based on this principle. Then perhaps the "Object Oriented Language" extended this concept into "Frameworks". Now the concept appears to have been re born with the SOA concept. Perhaps the difference is that the SOA concept is now looking more on using services from computers which are far removed from each other and may be distributed over the Internet.
While this globalized approach of access to service components is a step towards avoiding repetition of coding and reinvention of the wheel, there are serious issues of Cyber Laws involved in the sharing of such components.
It may be stated that the IPR laws could be considered as a "Driving Force" for the SOA concept since more and more software developers are conscious of their long term rights on the software components and would like to preserve them by lending the service through a license rather than selling them. Developing useful components and making them available as SOA component is therefore a preferred means of using niche expertise in software development.
While the Copyright or Patent protection ensures that every time a service component is called, a charge can be made on the user (either the end consumer or the intermediary package builder), the copyright does not fully control the manner in which his service component is used in the end product or by the end consumer.
When the objective of the end product or the end consumer using an SOA component is not legally permitted in the country of the SOA component developer we run into a situation where the component developer may be exposed to the risks of legal violation. The international nature of the Cyber Laws and the problems arising out of the differences in legal interpretations in different counties create risks of the type witnessed in the Elcomsoft Vs Adobe case or the Yahoo Vs French Government cases. Imagine a situation where and Indian SOA component developer has developed n online payment collection mechanism and this is used by an US person for money laundering. Technically the software developer would be guilty under the laws of the US.
This kind of risks arising out of the use of a software component across different legal zones makes it necessary for SOA component suppliers to build in a strong disclaimer and indemnity clause in its user agreements. But in many cases laws are framed to over rule certain standard disclaimers which could run into disputes.
SOA users are therefore required to address this issue to use SOA concepts without the legal hassels.
Naavi
January 12, 2007
