Computer Law Commons^™

The Americans With Disabilities Act And Internet Accessibility For The Blind, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 543 (2008), Katherine Rengel

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This comment analyzes the current debate over Internet accessibility for the blind. The author proposes an amendment to the ADA which would require that all Web sites make reasonable accommodations so they are accessible to the visually impaired. The amendment would comply with the purpose of the ADA, and promote the public policy of equal access to all. Finally, the author concludes that, given the Internet’s prevalence in today’s society, an amendment to the ADA is essential to promote equality and bring the ADA into the Internet age.

Convergence And Incongruence: Trademark Law And Icann's Introduction Of New Generic Top-Level Domains, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 625 (2008), Christine Haight Farley

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author demonstrates how problematic the convergences between Internet technology, the demands of a burgeoning e-market, and trademark laws have created a myriad of issues in international governance of domain names. While the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) has been tasked with resolving some of the most problematic information ownership issues in e-commerce, she demonstrates that current changes in domain name registries ignore the real world problems posed by these convergences.

Dead Ends And Dirty Secrets: Legal Treatment Of Negative Information, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 619 (2008), John T. Cross

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article discusses the process of innovation and releasing so-called negative information to help others in the process to innovate. The article focuses on patent law and asks the questions: Why do people innovate? Does the legal system really reflect how the process of innovation actually occurs?

The Supreme Court's Trademark Jurisprudence: Categorical Divergence In The Interest Of Information Convergence, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 635 (2008), Sheldon Halpern

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author shows that convergence has placed trademark law in the center of some of the hard-fought battles over information ownership in intellectual property. From fights over moral rights, to collisions with patents, trademarks in the new technological age have raised questions that he suggests might be better analyzed if the associative nature of trademarks were recognized and applied.

Access To Computer Programs Under The Dmca, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 641 (2008), Dennis S. Karjala

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author explores the convergences between technology and information in the critical area of computer programs and the DMCA. Examining recent attempts to raise protected access control measures under the DMCA to non-communication related content, he demonstrates that not all fears of unlimited expansion of copyright are justified. To the contrary, courts are showing a remarkable sensitivity to the problem.

Information Governance, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 673 (2008), Michael J. Madison

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author goes back to the first principles of information governance and discusses what impact the means and methods that we chose to control information has on the nature of information itself. Focusing on the Google Book Project, he suggests an analytical method for considering information access and control issues that avoids privileging any particular player and instead focuses on information governance as a dynamic process.

When Worlds Collide: The Uneasy Convergence Of Creativity And Innovation, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 653 (2008), Doris E. Long

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author contends that in the area of computer software protection convergence has resulted in confusion in the goals of copyright and patent laws to the detriment of both. By confusing “innovation” with “creativity,” she contends that copyright protection has been strained by its efforts to fit the demands of functional code within its expressive protection goals. She concludes by suggesting that we go “back to the future” to resurrect an international sui generis system for software and allow both copyright and patent to go back to their original, and distinctly different, policy goals.

Informing The Enemy: Feeding The Counter-Intelligence Needs Of Our Adversaries, 25 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 681 (2008), Kenneth J. Ryan

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The author demonstrates how the convergences of technology, national security and an ever expanding media pose critical problems for the protection, dissemination and employment of information for national security purposes. Focusing on the methods and harms posed by the inadvertent and intentional disclosure of operational information, he proposes a three-part remedy that balances transparency with national security concerns and underscores the critical role that any information may hold in these days of heightened security.

Digital Currencies And The Financing Of Terrorism, William Hett

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Informal money transfers present a significant challenge to combating the financing of terrorist organizations worldwide. Although the U.S. and other governments have implemented measures to restrict terrorist financing, these measures were designed to regulate formal financial institutions. Accordingly, those seeking to avoid detection have turned to other methods of transferring money, such as commodities trades, hawala, and digital currencies. Many terrorist operations do not require large sums of money, making the detection and prevention of even modest transfers important. For example, the September 11 Commission estimated the cost of carrying out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, which killed 224 people …

Dredging Up The Past: Lifelogging, Memory And Surveillance, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

The term “lifelog” refers to a comprehensive archive of an individual's quotidian existence, created with the help of pervasive computing technologies. Lifelog technologies would record and store everyday conversations, actions, and experiences of their users, enabling future replay and aiding remembrance. Products to assist lifelogging are already on the market; but the technology that will enable people fully and continuously to document their entire lives is still in the research and development phase. For generals, edgy artists and sentimental grandmothers alike, lifelogging could someday replace or complement, existing memory preservation practices. Like a traditional diary, journal or day-book, the lifelog …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Yuka Ito

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On behalf of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our third issue for the 2007-2008 year, our Annual Survey of Electronic Discovery. This year’s Survey concentrates on the recent Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and its various implications on Electronic Discovery.

Who Is Reading The Data On Your Old Computer?, Vivienne Mee

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Researchers at Rits Information Security performed a study in how the Irish population disposes of their old computers. How would you dispose of your old computer, or how would the company you work for dispose of their old computers?

The majority of Irish homeowners, would bring their old computers to local civic amenity centres, give it away to a relative or sell it on to another party.

Some organisations would give their old equipment to a staff member, as a gift gesture, others may simply discard in the local civic amenity site.

What is wrong with the methods currently being …

Analysis Of Information Remaining On Hand Held Devices Offered For Sale On The Second Hand, Andy Jones, Craig Valli, Iain Sutherland

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The ownership and use of mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants and other hand held devices is now ubiquitous both for home and business use. The majority of these devices have a high initial cost, a relatively short period before they become obsolescent and a relatively low second hand value. As a result of this, when the devices are replaced, there are indications that they tend to be discarded. As technology has continued to develop, it has led to an increasing diversity in the number and type of devices that are available, and the processing power and the storage capacity of …

Book Review: The Dotcrime Manifesto: How To Stop Internet Crime, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Mac Os X, Ipod, And Iphone Forensic Analysis Dvd Toolkit, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Apple's hold on the personal computer marketplace started dwindling on August 12, 1981, the day that the IBM PC was introduced. As an Apple ][+ bigot myself, I refused to touch a PC for some years. But I was also a command line bigot, so when the first Macintosh was introduced in 1983 and hermetically sealed the operating system from users, I did not go out and buy one. In fact, like many of my era, I did eventually end up on the PC side which, ironically, let me do many of the things that my trusty Apple ][+ had …

All Rights Reserved: Does Google's "Image Search" Infringe Vested Exclusive Rights Granted Under The Copyright Law?, 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 487 (2008), Eugene Goryunov

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Opinionated Software, Meiring De Villiers

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Information security is an important and urgent priority in the computer systems of corporations, governments, and private users. Malevolent software, such as computer viruses and worms, constantly threatens the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of digital information. Virus detection software announces the presence of a virus in a program by issuing a virus alert. A virus alert presents two conflicting legal issues. A virus alert, as a statement on an issue of great public concern, merits protection under the First Amendment. The reputational interest of a plaintiff disparaged by a virus alert, on the other hand, merits protection under the law …

Fantasy Crime: The Role Of Criminal Law In Virtual Worlds, Susan W. Brenner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article analyzes activity in virtual worlds that would constitute crime if they were committed in the real world. It reviews the evolution of virtual worlds like Second Life and notes research which indicates that more and more of our lives will move into this realm. The Article then analyzes the criminalization of virtual conduct that inflicts "harm" in the real world and virtual conduct that only inflicts "harm" in the virtual world. It explains that the first category qualifies as cybercrime and can be prosecuted under existing law. Finally, it analyzes the necessity and propriety of criminalizing the second …

Tort Liability For Vendors Of Insecure Software: Has The Time Finally Come?, Michael D. Scott

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Writer's Block, David Spratt

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Tactics And Terms In The Negotiation Of Electronic Resource Licenses, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

This chapter introduces the reader to the realm of electronic resource license agreements. It provides the reader with an overview of basic contract law as it relates to electronic resource licensing. The chapter then discusses the electronic resource license negotiation process as well as license agreement term clauses. The aim of this chapter is to provide librarians with an understanding of basic licensing concepts and language in order to aid librarians in the review and negotiation of their own license agreements. The author hopes to impart lessons and tips he has learned in reviewing and negotiating license agreements with a …

The Dangers Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Much Ado About Nothing?, Steve P. Calandrillo, Ewa A. Davison

Articles

In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at protecting copyright holders from those who might manufacture or traffic technology capable of allowing users to evade piracy protections on the underlying work. At its core, the DMCA flatly prohibits the circumvention of “technological protection measures” in order to gain access to copyrighted works, but provides no safety valve for any traditionally protected uses.

While hailed as a victory by the software and entertainment industries, the academic and scientific communities ties have been far less enthusiastic. The DMCA’s goal of combating piracy is …

Bargaining In The Shadow Of The European Microsoft Decision: The Microsoft-Samba Protocol License, William H. Page, Seldon J. Childers

UF Law Faculty Publications

The Microsoft-Samba agreement is by far the most important tangible outcome of the European Microsoft case. The EC’s other remedial order in the case, which required Microsoft to create a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, was an embarrassing failure. The Samba agreement, however, is significant because it requires Microsoft to provide, to its most important rival in the server market, detailed documentation of its communications protocols, under terms that allow use of the information in open source development and distribution. There is good reason to believe that Samba will be able to use the information to compete more …

On Communication, John Greenman

Michigan Law Review

Everybody knows that communication is important, but nobody knows how to define it. The best scholars refer to it. Free-speech law protects it. But no one-no scholar or judge-has successfully captured it. Few have even tried. This is the first article to define communication under the law. In it, I explain why some activities-music, abstract painting, and parading-are considered communicative under the First Amendment, while others-sex, drugs, and subliminal advertising-are not. I argue that the existing theories of communication, which hold that communicative behaviors are expressive or convey ideas, fail to explain what is going on in free-speech cases. Instead, …

Orwell Was An Optimist: The Evolution Of Privacy In The United States And Its De-Evolution For American Employees, 42 J. Marshall L. Rev. 83 (2008), Robert Sprague

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Property And Probable Cause: The Fourth Amendment's Principled Protection Of Privacy, Ricardo J. Bascuas

Articles

No abstract provided.

Information Security Breaches: Looking Back & Thinking Ahead, Fred H. Cate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Two-Factor Fair Use?, Joseph P. Liu

Joseph P. Liu

Implementing Geographic Information Technologies Ethically, Harlan J. Onsrud

Harlan J Onsrud

Spatial technologies are changing relations among citizens, between citizens and businesses, and between citizens and their governments. Profound implications regarding our relationships with each other are being raised by the expanding use of mobile, spatial, and context-aware technologies, the building of interoperable coordinated spatial data infrastructures and pervasive sensor-networks, the use of location as the foundation for many current and future business and scientific information systems, and the widespread enablement of individuals to gather their own spatial data, report it to others and generate their own spatial resources. How can we within the geospatial community better weave our way through …