Law Commons^™

Governing By Negotiation: The Internet Naming System, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is about the governance of the Internet naming system. The subject is fascinating, not simply because the naming system is an important system affecting the Internet, although it is; and not because the Internet is important, although it is. The subject is fascinating because it offers a rare opportunity to examine and learn from the evolution of an incoherent governance structure. The naming system is special in that it is the product of a new technology; it reflects the changes and pressures brought by the new technology, and involves the interests of government and private entities, domestic and …

The Hegemony Of The Copyright Treatise, Ann Bartow

Ann Bartow

This Article asserts that major conceptions about the appropriate structure, texture, and span of copyright protections and privileges have been fashioned by copyright treatises, particularly the various editions of Nimmer on Copyright. Copyright treatises function in concert with the machinations of Congress, the courts, and custom, but their role is not often scrutinized.

Because copyright treatises typically do a far better job than Congress or the courts of explicating copyright law in straightforward and accessible language, such treatises can not only communicate the copyright law, but also influence its development and direction. Policy makers no doubt understand that content owners …

Grasping Intangibles: Domain Names And Creditors’ Rights, Juliet Moringiello

Juliet M Moringiello

No abstract provided.

Delivering Legality On The Internet: Developing Principles For The Private Provision Of Commercial Law, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

No abstract provided.

6th Annual Open Government Summit: Access To Public Records Act & Open Meetings Act, 2004, Department Of Attorney General, State Of Rhode Island

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

What Does Pruneyard Have To Do With California Internet Trade Secret Law?, Adam J. Sheridan

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This comment discusses the facts of the Bunner case and the decisions of the Sixth District and the Supreme Court. The Bunner case involves Andrew Bunner and his act of putting a link on his Web page allowing visitors to access a Digitial Video Disc (DVD) descrambler program, which allowed a computer user to decrypt DVDs. The DVD Copy Control Association sought an injunction against Bunner under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). The author analyzes the historical protection given free speech and trade secrets under California law. Looking at the Bunner case in light of Pruneyard, the author …

Family Court Files: A Treasure Trove For Identity Thieves, Melissa F. Brown

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Horizontal Leap Forward: Formulating A New Communications Public Policy Framework Based On The Network Layers Model, Richard S. Whitt

Federal Communications Law Journal

Over the course of the last several decades, legal and structural fictions have evolved and have been integrated into the reality of communications theory and regulation. In this Article, the Author argues that the development of a "layers approach" to communications regulation of IP networks would lead to greater efficiencies while addressing public policy issues. By reconceptualizing communications regulation along horizontal layers, Mr. Whitt posits that the logical walls surrounding the key components of IP networks should be removed to promote increased functionality of communications oversight and management. In this way, the outmoded vertical separation associated with the legal legacy …

Try, Try Again: Will Congress Ever Get It Right? A Summary Of Internet Pornography Laws Protecting Children And Possible Solutions, Susan Hanley Kosse

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using Architectural Constraints And Game Theory To Regulate International Cyberspace Behavior, Van N. Nguy

San Diego International Law Journal

The debate over whether cyberspace can or should be regulated is essentially dead. This is the conclusion being taught in law schools today. The battle between Judge Frank Easterbrook and Professor Lawrence Lessig over "laws" and "horses", infamous among cyberspace legal scholars, became irrelevant when geographically-based governments began regulating Internet related activities. However, debate over how the Internet should be regulated continues. One way of framing this debate is in terms of deciding how to regulate behavior in cyberspace. Professor Lessig postulated four kinds of constraints regulate behavior: (1) social norms, (2) markets, (3) law, and (4) architecture. This comment …

Staying Afloat In The Internet Stream: How To Keep Web Radio From Drowning In Digital Copyright Royalties, Emily D. Harwood

Federal Communications Law Journal

In the 1990's, the development of "streaming" technology allowed webcasters to begin broadcasting music on the Internet. The public took advantage of a plethora of free media players, and the number of web-based radio stations soared. However, a crippling dispute over broadcast rates left the viability of this technology in doubt. This Note criticizes current policies that curtail radio streaming by providing harsh financial restrictions on webcasters. In looking to the future, this Note argues that Congress should extend licensing exemptions to cover those Internet stations most like their AM/FM counterparts who do not have to pay additional fees.

Communicating Entitlements: Property And The Internet, William Hubbard

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From The Cluetrain To The Panopticon: Isp Activity Characterization And Control Of Internet Communications, Eric Evans

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

If ISPs are exposed to liability for forwarding others' messages--messages originating with other ISPs or with the ISP's own users--the norm of universal mutual message forwarding that underlies the present operation of the Internet will be threatened. This Note will argue that society presently confronts a choice between a common carrier Internet characterized by universal mutual message forwarding and a monitored and controlled Internet. Part I will describe the underlying rules that govern ISPs' liability for their users' actions. Part II will argue that the present statutory regime governing ISPs' liability for users' copyright infringement includes elements that provide ISPs …

Application Of The Public-Trust Doctrine And Principles Of Natural Resource Management To Electromagnetic Spectrum, Patrick S. Ryan

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Electromagnetic spectrum is among our most valuable natural resources. Yet while the past few decades have seen a rich body of environmental law develop for other natural resources, this movement has largely passed over the electromagnetic spectrum. This Article argues that to remedy that situation, the public-trust doctrine, which is now a cornerstone of modern environmental law, should be extended to the electromagnetic spectrum. This extension would not be a leap: the public-trust doctrine has already been used to guarantee the public access to various bodies of water (not just navigable water), and to protect recreational lakes and beaches, …

How The Established Business Relationship Exemption To The National Do-Not-Call Registry Forces Consumers To Pay For Unwanted Sales Calls, Shannon D. Torgerson

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Revisiting Standard-Setting Organizations' Patent Policies, Kraig A. Jakobsen

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

New Strategies For Owners Of Discontinued Brands, David S. Ruder

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Virtual Property: The Challenges Of Regulating Intangible, Exclusionary Property Interests Such As Domain Names, David Nelmark

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

New Technology, Old Defenses: Internet Sting Operations And Attempt Liability, Audrey Rogers

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article addresses the general principles of attempt liability, including a description of the doctrines of factual and legal impossibility and the rationale behind the historical treatment of these defenses. Part III describes recent Internet attempt cases, and Part IV analyzes issues raised by such cases. This article suggests that the new Internet cases provide further rationale for rejecting a distinction between factual and legal impossibility that would allow the latter to be a defense. This article also discusses issues surrounding the appropriate mens rea for attempt, and its applicability to Internet cases, where the defendants claim ignorance or indifference …

Wings For Talons: The Case For Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Over Sexual Exploitation Of Children Through Cyberspace, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

To cope more effectively with the changed landscape of child exploitation, it is necessary for laws to expand their extraterritorial reach. Some statutes in the “child exploitation arena” have already been ruled to apply extraterritorially. The prime example of this is 18 U.S.C. § 2252 (2004) (certain activities relating to the material involving the sexual exploitation of minors). Two of the more useful statutes in combating online pedophiles are 18 U.S.C. § 1470 (2003) (transfer of obscene materials to minors) and 18 U.S.C. § 2422 (2003) (coercion and enticement). These latter statutes, however, have yet to receive significant or …

Cracks In The Foundation: The New Internet Legislation's Hidden Threat To Privacy And Commerce, Joshua Fairfield

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Scholarship to date has focused on the legal significance of the novelty of the Internet. This scholarship does not describe or predict actual Internet legislation. Instead of asking whether the Internet is so new as to merit new law, legislators and academics should re-evaluate the role of government in orchestrating collective action and change the relative weight of enforcement, deterrence, and incentives in Internet regulations.

A perfect example of the need for this new approach is the recent CANSPAM Act of 2003, which was intended to protect personal privacy and legitimate businesses. However, the law threatens both of these interests, …

Taxing The New Intellectual Property Right, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Articles

Current, albeit arbitrary, rules exist governing the tax treatment of traditional forms of intellectual property, such as patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and trade names. While tax principles exist for these traditional intellectual property and intangible rights, specific tax rules do not exist for new intellectual property rights, such as domain names, that are emerging with the arrival of global electronic commerce transactions on the Internet. This article explores the proper tax treatment of domain name registration and acquisition costs, addressing these parallel questions? Are domain names merely variations of traditional forms of intellectual property and other intangible rights to …

Fire, Metaphor, And Constitutional Myth-Making, Robert Tsai

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

From the standpoint of traditional legal thought, metaphor is at best a dash of poetry adorning lawyerly analysis, and at worst an unjustifiable distraction from what is actually at stake in a legal contest. By contrast, in the eyes of those who view law as a close relative of ordinary language, metaphor is a basic building block of human understanding. This article accepts that metaphor helps us to comprehend a court's decision. At the same time, it argues that metaphor plays a special role in the realm of constitutional discourse. Metaphor in constitutional law not only reinforces doctrinal categories, but …

Whose Music Is It Anyway? How We Came To View Musical Expression As A Form Of Property, Michael W. Carroll

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Many participants in the music industry consider unauthorized transmissions of music files over the Internet to be theft of their property. Many Internet users who exchange music files reject this characterization. Prompted by the dispute over unauthorized music distribution, this Article explores how those who create and distribute music first came to look upon music as their property and when in Western history the law first supported this view. By analyzing the economic and legal structures governing music making in Western Europe from the classical period in Greece through the Renaissance, the Article shows that the law first granted some …

Introduction: A Regulatory Regime For The Internet Age, Philip J. Weiser

Publications

No abstract provided.

Inciting Terrorism On The Internet: An Application Of Brandenburg To Terrorist Websites, Thomas E. Crocco

Saint Louis University Public Law Review

No abstract provided.

Aliens, The Internet, And "Purposeful Availment": A Reassessment Of Fifth Amendment Limits On Personal Jurisdiction, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

The international community has been struggling with questions of who should regulate the Internet and how, but little consensus has emerged. For the United States, consideration of the pros and cons of the alternative jurisdictional approaches to e-commerce and cyberspace is complicated by an overlay of constitutional law. While the rest of the world considers the policy implications of a country of origin versus a country of destination approach, the United States is wrestling with what constitutes "purposeful availment" under the Due Process Clause.

The Supreme Court has never squarely considered what limits the Fifth Amendment imposes on assertions of …

New Technology, Old Defenses: Internet Sting Operations And Attempt Liability, Audrey Rogers

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Toward A Constitutional Regulation Of Minors' Access To Harmful Internet Speech, Dawn C. Nunziato

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In this article, I scrutinize Congress's recent efforts to regulate access to sexually-themed Internet speech. The first such effort, embodied in the Communications Decency Act, failed to take into account the Supreme Court's carefully-honed obscenity and obscenity-for-minors jurisprudence. The second, embodied in the Child Online Protection Act, attended carefully to Supreme Court precedent, but failed to account for the geographic variability in definitions of obscene speech. Finally, the recently-enacted Children's Internet Protection Act apparently remedies the constitutional deficiencies identified in these two prior legislative efforts, but runs the risk of being implemented in a manner that fails to protect either …

Missing The Mark: The Trademark Battle Over Software-Based Contextually Targeted Advertising On The Internet, Melinda M. Kline

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.