Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Law

Aclu V. Reno: Congress Places Speed Bumps On The Information Superhighway, Dharmesh S. Vashee Jan 2000

Aclu V. Reno: Congress Places Speed Bumps On The Information Superhighway, Dharmesh S. Vashee

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act ("CDA") in an effort to regulate indecent speech on the Internet. Through the CDA, Congress sought to protect children from easily accessible, harmful materials on the Internet. In spirit, the law had noble intentions; however, on its face, the CDA raised serious constitutional questions and was immediately challenged by First Amendment advocates in ACLU v. Reno ("Reno I"). Using broad and vague terms such as "indecent" and "patently offensive," the CDA threatened to restrict adult access to a tremendous amount of speech that was constitutionally protected. Additionally, through the imposition of criminal …


Using The Digital Millennium Copyright Act To Limit Potential Copyright Liability Online, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono Jan 2000

Using The Digital Millennium Copyright Act To Limit Potential Copyright Liability Online, Jonathan A. Friedman, Francis M. Buono

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Any online service provider ("OSP"), including a website operator, that accepts user postings or includes content from other parties on its website or online service is at risk that it will be held liable if such third-party content infringes the copyright of another party. Liability for copyright infringement is an expensive proposition and can run into the millions of dollars. Thus, an OSP must be vigilant in limiting its potential liability in connection with such third-party content.


Y2k …Who Cares? We Have Bigger Problems: Choice Of Law In Electronic Contracts, Aristotle G. Mirzaian Jan 2000

Y2k …Who Cares? We Have Bigger Problems: Choice Of Law In Electronic Contracts, Aristotle G. Mirzaian

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Every day it becomes more certain that the Internet will take its place alongside the other great transformational technologies that first challenged, and then fundamentally changed, the way things are done in the world.


Internet Taxes: Congressional Efforts To Control States' Ability To Tax The World Wide Web, Kevin J. Smith Jan 2000

Internet Taxes: Congressional Efforts To Control States' Ability To Tax The World Wide Web, Kevin J. Smith

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Every year, increasingly more people use the Internet to purchase goods and services. Internet purchases are expected to exceed $20 billion per year in the near future. By the year 2003, industry experts predict Internet purchases by businesses alone will reach $1.3 trillion. Presently, the majority of Internet sales transactions flow through business to business sites. Internet purchases by consumers are expected to reach $144 billion by the year 2003.


Report From The Court: State Bans Employees From Indecent Internet Activity: U.S. Fourth Circuit En Banc Hearing Of Urofsky V. Gilmore, Julie A. Roscoe Jan 2000

Report From The Court: State Bans Employees From Indecent Internet Activity: U.S. Fourth Circuit En Banc Hearing Of Urofsky V. Gilmore, Julie A. Roscoe

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On October 25, 1999 the constitutional debate over a Virginia statute limiting state employees from performing uncensored computer-assisted research resumed before the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case in debate is Urofsky v. Gilmore. The statute affects all Virginia state employees, who amount to over 100,000 people.


Opening Remarks At The Ninth Annual Austin Owen Symposium, John Plunkett Jan 2000

Opening Remarks At The Ninth Annual Austin Owen Symposium, John Plunkett

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Let me say it's a pleasure to be here. It's both a privilege and a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you on topics certainly near and dear to my heart having to do with technology. It is a pleasure for me to welcome you to the 9th Annual Austin Owen Lecture, and to welcome you to my alma mater. It's a pleasure for me to be back here on this campus almost weekly, participating in a variety of different activities.


The Developing Legal Infrastructure And The Globalization Of Information: Constructing A Framework For Critical Choices In The New Millennium Internet -- Character, Content And Confusion, Tomas A. Lipinski Jan 2000

The Developing Legal Infrastructure And The Globalization Of Information: Constructing A Framework For Critical Choices In The New Millennium Internet -- Character, Content And Confusion, Tomas A. Lipinski

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

This paper reviews recent attempts to extend traditional property rights and other information controls and regulations into new media, such as cyberspace, primarily the World Wide Web. It reviews developments in copyright, trademark, trademark dilution, misappropriation, trespass, censorship, tort, privacy and other legal doctrines as they are reflected in recent United States case law and legislation, and to a lesser extent, in international agreements. Legal problems often arise because there is a conflict of viewpoints in how to best characterize space on the Internet, specifically the World Wide Web. Some argue that traditional ownership rights should apply, or perhaps a …


Letter From The Editor, Lisa Taylor Hudson, Dharmesh S. Vashee Jan 2000

Letter From The Editor, Lisa Taylor Hudson, Dharmesh S. Vashee

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Welcome to the fifth issue of The Richmond Journal of Law & Technology! This issue represents a watershed experience for JOLT, as this is the first time we have published more than three issues in a single year! The timing of this issue's publication is also significant because on April 5, 2000, we will celebrate the fifth birthday of our journal. As the oldest exclusively online law review in the U.S., we continue to enjoy our leadership role in the publication of academic pieces dedicated to the marriage of law and technology.


Metatags: Seeking To Evade User Detection And The Lanham Act, Terrell W. Mills Jan 2000

Metatags: Seeking To Evade User Detection And The Lanham Act, Terrell W. Mills

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

You hop on the World Wide Web ready to do some Internet surfing. You decide to check the scores from last night's football game. You head to your favorite search engine and then pause . . . "where will the scores be" you ask yourself. You decide upon ESPN, because you know they have it all when it comes to sports. So, you type in ESPN and click on the "SEARCH" button. You eagerly await the return of the results to head out to the ESPN homepage to find out if your alma mater beat the in-state rival in the …


Opening Up To Open Source, Shawn W. Parker Jan 2000

Opening Up To Open Source, Shawn W. Parker

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The latest "revolution" in the software industry has nothing to do with breakthrough technology; the revolution is a rethinking of how software technology is held, developed, and distributed. The revolution is called "open source," although it has also been called "freeware," and "copyleft." Each term generically describes the movement, yet implies wildly different ideas to the developers, distributors, and users inside the open source community. Open source is not a company, but rather, a community; projects are established and programmers communicate and contribute software building blocks to each other via the Internet. When a software program is completed by this …


Update: Riaa V. Diamond Multimedia Systems - Napster And Mp3.Com, Jayne A. Pemberton A. Pemberton Jan 2000

Update: Riaa V. Diamond Multimedia Systems - Napster And Mp3.Com, Jayne A. Pemberton A. Pemberton

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

After the Recording Industry Association of America's ("RIAA") attack on the Diamond Rio proved unsuccessful, the music industry turned its attention to the companies enabling reproduction of copyrighted music. Two important cases appeared after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Diamond Rio was not infringing on copyrights. These cases, A&M Records, Inc. et al. v. Napster, Inc. and UMG, Inc., et. al. v. MP3.com, Inc., will shape computer technology's effect on American copyright law. This update will discuss these two cases and give brief overviews of the courts' findings and conclusions. These findings will …


You Can't Always Get What You Want: Government's Good Intentions V. The First Amendment's Prescribed Freedoms In Protecting Children From Sexually-Explicit Material On The Internet, Abbigale E. Bricker Jan 2000

You Can't Always Get What You Want: Government's Good Intentions V. The First Amendment's Prescribed Freedoms In Protecting Children From Sexually-Explicit Material On The Internet, Abbigale E. Bricker

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Once a small and diverse community of a handful of government computers, the Internet has expanded to an estimated 157 million users worldwide. According to current studies, the fastest growing user populations on the Internet are thirteen to eighteen year-olds and five to twelve year-olds. In addition, the latest "research . . . predicts that the number of children online [will increase] by 155% between 1998 and 2002."


The Development Of Arbitration In The Resolution Of Internet Domain Name Disputes, Christopher S. Lee Jan 2000

The Development Of Arbitration In The Resolution Of Internet Domain Name Disputes, Christopher S. Lee

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Web surfers who use the AltaVista Internet search engine may not realize that in 1998, Compaq Computer Corporation paid $3.3 million for the rights to the domain name AltaVista.com. A year later, eCompanies paid $7.5 million for the domain name business.com. And in February of 2000, Bank of America paid $3 million for the domain name loans.com. These transactions demonstrate that the ownership, transfer, and control of Internet domain names is a multi-million dollar industry.


Riaa V. Diamond Multimedia Systems: The Recording Industry Attempts To Slow The Mp3 Revolution, Taking Aim At The Jogger Friendly Diamond Rio, Stephen W. Webb Jan 2000

Riaa V. Diamond Multimedia Systems: The Recording Industry Attempts To Slow The Mp3 Revolution, Taking Aim At The Jogger Friendly Diamond Rio, Stephen W. Webb

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The music industry may never be the same again. In recent years, the recording industry has faced an onslaught of advances resulting from digital technology. The record industry has battled the manufacturing and import industries over digital home recording since the 1980's. Digital technology initially manifested itself with the compact disc ("CD") and the digital audio tape ("DAT") in the early 1980's and generated greater tensions between the recording, electronics, and computer industries.


Defamatory E-Mail And Employer Liability: Why Razing Zeran V. America Online Is A Good Thing, Michael H. Spencer Jan 2000

Defamatory E-Mail And Employer Liability: Why Razing Zeran V. America Online Is A Good Thing, Michael H. Spencer

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Electronic mail ("e-mail") has taken its place as an integral part of communication in modern society. Unlike other forms of communication, e-mail can cheaply and efficiently be placed in a public domain for literally the world to see. These public areas, otherwise known as bulletin boards, have expanded society's ability to communicate over vast distances. Individuals or groups can also engage in mass communication, which involves a myriad of topics and concerns. Nevertheless, such electronic communications, as almost any other form of communication, can become volatile and create animosity among users. Hence, many of the remarks made in such exchanges …


E-Business, E-Commerce & The Law, John F. Rudin Jan 2000

E-Business, E-Commerce & The Law, John F. Rudin

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Advocates argue that UCITA (Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) provides rules of the road for the technology highway much like the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) has done with our commerce system for several decades. However, the UCC provides a level playing field where businesses and customers are aware of the rules prior to conducting business. Among its many shortcomings, UCITA lacks the notice and disclosure features of the UCC. A simple double click of a mouse with the cursor on an icon that reads "I accept" binds the customer to a contract that has not been reviewed prior to purchase. …


Letter From The Editor, Dharmesh Vashee Jan 2000

Letter From The Editor, Dharmesh Vashee

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Welcome to the second issue of The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology's seventh publication term. As we near the halfway point of this term, the Journal is stronger than ever. Our continued growth and success is due in large part to the dedication of our staff and Editorial Board. This year we will publish four issues and will hold a symposium on the soon-to-be-enacted Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act ("UCITA"). The symposium will be held on March 2, 2001. Registration for and information on the symposium will be available on our website soon.


The Crime Of "Interruption Of Computer Services To Authorized Users" Have You Ever Heard Of It?, Jeff Nemerofsky Jan 2000

The Crime Of "Interruption Of Computer Services To Authorized Users" Have You Ever Heard Of It?, Jeff Nemerofsky

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The "interruption of computer services to authorized users," involves a violation of a series of federal and state computer-related crime laws which are designed to protect the authorized users of computer systems.Because most of these laws have only recently been legislated, and since few people have ever actually been charged with such violations, there is very little history or case law in this area. However, as computer-related crimes continue to escalate, these statutes could prove to be a positive force in efforts to catch the electronic criminals of the future. "Although there has never been accurate nationwide reporting of computer …


Consumer Privacy On The Internet, Andrew Shen Jan 2000

Consumer Privacy On The Internet, Andrew Shen

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

If we do not bear the loss of this privacy then the prices would be passed along to consumers anyway. We're between a rock and a hard place there's nowhere that we can go. But I think we can be more optimistic than that and I think we can preserve privacy and I think we can further growth of electronic commerce. So let me begin with the consumer perspective. I would like to start with a trend that Mike has already done a good job of starting us out on, and that is the current popularity of personalization and customization. …