Computer Law Commons^™

Finding Common Ground In The World Of Electronic Contracts: The Consistency Of Legal Reasoning In Clickwrap Cases, Robert L. Dickens

ExpressO

Electronic contractual arrangements have raised complex legal issues unprecedented in the law. Technology s impact on traditional contract law doctrines is readily apparent in the dilemmas generated by recent developments in computer software, hardware, and Internet transactions. In such transactions, sellers have increasingly begun utilizing “clickwrap” agreements, whereby standard terms and conditions are displayed on the computer screen when the user attempts to access the seller’s services. Not surprisingly, the enforceability of clickwrap terms, which are often not known to the user until after payment, has become a subject of much debate in the courts. Because many of the clickwrap …

Ley Federal Del Procedimiento Contencioso Administrativo., Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Ponencia sobre la Ley Federal del Procedimiento Contencioso Administrativo, impartida por Bruno L. Costantini García.

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.

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 …

Open Source, Free Software And Contractual Issues, Jose Javier González De Alaiza

ExpressO

“Free software” is an increasingly used form to license computer programs, which on the one hand gives users the rights to use, modify and redistribute the program; and, on the other, forces any person redistributing an original or modified version of the program to license it with the same rights. Such a forced obligation is introduced through the so called “copyleft clause” and, basically, uses Copyright in a creative way to achieve freedom instead of control.

This paper discusses the “free software” foundations and contractual issues. The discussion is structured in two main parts and Conclusion. In Part II, the …

Applying Tort Theory To Information Technology, Marvin L. Longabaugh

ExpressO

In this article, I discuss the issue of whether torts attributable to Information Systems products, both hardware and software, should be subject to litigation as a contract action, a tort action, or both. I further suggest a protocol for attorneys and courts to consider when attempting to discern whether a particular cause of action is appropriate. Last, I briefly discuss whether the advent of certification programs for computer professionals should result in the courts reconsideration of the concept of computer malpractice.

Primer Congreso Nacional De Organismos Públicos Autónomos, Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Memorias del Primer Congreso Nacional de Organismos Públicos Autonomos

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.

Online Boilerplate: Would Mandatory Website Disclosure Of E-Standard Terms Backfire?, Robert A. Hillman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Secret Is Out: Patent Law Preempts Mass Market License Terms Barring Reverse Engineering For Interoperability Purposes, Daniel Laster

ExpressO

As patent protection has emerged to protect software, courts and commentators have mistakenly focused on copyright law and overlooked the centrality of patent preemption to limit contract law where a mass market license which prohibits reverse engineering (RE) for purposes of developing interoperable products leads to patent-like protection. Review of copyright fair use cases on RE and Congress’s policy favoring RE for interoperability purposes in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act reinforce the case for patent preemption. Also, the fundamental freedom to RE embodied in state trade secret law, coupled with federal patent and copyright law and policies, cumulatively should override …

Diverging Perspectives On Electronic Contracting In The U.S. And Eu, Jane K. Winn, Brian H. Bix

Cleveland State Law Review

Margaret Jane Radin's paper discusses the ways modern technologies have prompted new thinking within and about property, and the way the legal response has failed to take sufficiently into account the countervailing considerations that have shaped earlier Property Law developments. Some new technologies have also caused intellectual and practical struggles within Contract Law. This paper will consider some of the developments of Contract Law related to these changes, in particular the transactions relating to the sale, leasing or free use of computer software and the purchase of computers. Part I of this paper introduces the topic and offers an overview …