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Full-Text Articles in Computer Law

Invisible Labor, Invisible Play: Online Gold Farming And The Boundary Between Jobs And Games, Julian Dibbell Apr 2015

Invisible Labor, Invisible Play: Online Gold Farming And The Boundary Between Jobs And Games, Julian Dibbell

Julian Dibbell

When does work become play, and play work? Courts have considered the question in a variety of economic contexts, from student athletes seeking recognition as employees to professional blackjack players seeking to be treated by casinos just like casual players. Here I apply the question to a relatively novel context: that of online gold farming, a gray-market industry in which wage-earning workers, largely based in China, are paid to play online fantasy games (MMOs) that reward them with virtual items their employers sell for profit to the same games’ casual players. Gold farming is clearly a job (and under the …


The Evolution Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Changing Interpretations Of The Dmca And Future Implications For Copyright Holders, Hillary A. Henderson Jan 2014

The Evolution Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Changing Interpretations Of The Dmca And Future Implications For Copyright Holders, Hillary A. Henderson

Hillary A Henderson

Copyright law rewards an artificial monopoly to individual authors for their creations. This reward is based on the belief that, by granting authors the exclusive right to reproduce their works, they receive an incentive and means to create, which in turn advances the welfare of the general public by “promoting the progress of science and useful arts.” Copyright protection subsists . . . in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or …


E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman Oct 2013

E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

What are the major risks perceived by those engaged in e-commerce and electronic payment systems? What development risks, if they become reality, may cause substantial increases in operating costs or threaten the very survival of the enterprise? This article utilizes the relevant annual report disclosures from eBay (parent of PayPal), along with other eBay and PayPal documents, as a potentially powerful teaching device. Most of the descriptive language to follow is excerpted directly from eBay’s regulatory filings. My additions include weaving these materials into a logical presentation and providing supplemental sources for those who desire a deeper look (usually in …


Privacy, Transparency & Google's Blurred Glass, Jonathan I. Ezor Feb 2013

Privacy, Transparency & Google's Blurred Glass, Jonathan I. Ezor

Jonathan I. Ezor

No matter the context or jurisdiction, one concept underlies every view of the best practices in data privacy: transparency. The mandate to disclose what personal information is collected, how it is used, and with whom and for what purpose it is shared, is essential to enable informed consent to the collection, along with the other user rights that constitute privacy best practices. Google, which claims to support and offer transparency, is increasingly opaque about its many products and services and the information they collect for it, posing a significant privacy concern.


Private Copyright: Digital Rights Management Systems And The Consumer, Victor Nicholas Knipe Feb 2007

Private Copyright: Digital Rights Management Systems And The Consumer, Victor Nicholas Knipe

ExpressO

Digital Rights Managements (DRM) systems impact the digital content and software marketplace on several levels. The issues include copyright law, contract law, privacy, antitrust, and consumer protection. This paper examines how DRM systems affect the consumer and what changes can be made to bring about a more sensible and transparent market in the United States.


A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp Oct 2006

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.


Data Privacy, Data Piracy: Can India Provide Adequate Protection For Electronically Transferred Data?, Vinita Bali Aug 2006

Data Privacy, Data Piracy: Can India Provide Adequate Protection For Electronically Transferred Data?, Vinita Bali

ExpressO

As the wave of outsourcing to India swells, there is growing concern about the inadequacies of the India legal system in protecting data being transferred to it from other nations for the purpose of processing. India has a smattering of laws that scantily address the issue of data privacy. Under pressure from the business processing industry in India, as well as from the European Union and other nations, it is but a matter of time before India adopts a slate of laws that address the issue of data protection. Once these laws are enacted, the main issue that remains is …


Technoconsen(T)Sus, Andrea M. Matwyshyn Aug 2006

Technoconsen(T)Sus, Andrea M. Matwyshyn

ExpressO

Law is contributing to an information security paradox. Consumers are regularly “consenting” to the installation of computer code that makes them more vulnerable to harms such as identity theft. In particular, digital rights management technology accompanying digital music has recently left a wake of compromised user machines. Using the case study of security-invasive digital rights management technology, this article argues that a fundamental tension exists among intellectual property law, computer intrusion law and contract law regarding meaningful consumer consent in digital contexts. This article proposes to ease the noise in consent doctrine through creating an objective “reasonable digital consumer” standard …


Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp Jun 2006

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.


Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor Sep 2005

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.


Material Vulnerabilities: Data Privacy, Corporate Information Security And Securities Regulation, Andrea M. Matwyshyn Mar 2005

Material Vulnerabilities: Data Privacy, Corporate Information Security And Securities Regulation, Andrea M. Matwyshyn

ExpressO

This article undertakes a normative and empirical legal inquiry into the manner information security vulnerabilities are being addressed through law and in the marketplace. Specifically, this article questions the current legislative paradigm for information security regulation by presenting a critique grounded in information security and cryptography theory. Consequently, this article advocates shifting our regulatory approach to a process-based security paradigm that focuses on improving security of our system as a whole. Finally, this article argues that in order to accomplish this shift with least disruption to current legal and economic processes, expanding an existing set of well-functioning legal structures is …


Essay, Digital Bowdlerizing: Removing The Naughty Bytes, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons May 2004

Essay, Digital Bowdlerizing: Removing The Naughty Bytes, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons

ExpressO

Unlike Dr. Bowdler, who republished the works of Shakespeare with the naughty bits removed, the modern digital Bowdlerizer deletes offensive content from digital works in a variety of ways. This Essay will analyze the technologies used by the modern Bowdlerizer to determine when, if, and which technologies make copies in violation of the copyright owner’s § 106(1) right to control reproduction or make derivative copies of a preexisting work that may infringe the copyright owner’s 17 U.S.C. § 106(2) right to authorize the creation of derivative works. These technologies not only support militant prudery, but they also may add new …