Internet Law Commons^™

Rankings, Reductionism, And Responsibility , Frank Pasquale

Cleveland State Law Review

After discussing how search engines operate in Part I below, and setting forth a normative basis for regulation of their results in Part II, this piece proposes (in Part III) some minor, non-intrusive legal remedies for those who claim that they are harmed by search engine results. Such harms include unwanted high-ranking results relating to them, or exclusion from a page they claim it is their “due” to appear on. In the first case (deemed “inclusion harm”), I propose a right not to suppress the results, but merely to add an asterisk to the hyperlink directing web users to them, …

A Comment On Information Propertization And Its Legal Milieu, Margaret Jane Radin

Cleveland State Law Review

My main purpose in this essay is to urge that policy arguments about property in the digital environment take explicit cognizance of other policy considerations that tend to bound propertization: contractual ordering, competition, and freedom of expression. These policy considerations form the legal milieu in which propertization is situated.

Propertization Metaphors For Bargaining Power And Control Of The Self In The Information Age, Daniel D. Barnhizer

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article argues that the threatening consequences of this commodification and propertization of consumers' electronic selves represent only part of the picture. Information era technological developments provide more tools than ever available before by which consumers can place boundaries around their right to consent and exclude others from that arena. Thus, Internet-based contracting allows consumers to access a broad range of bargaining power inputs to protect their power to withhold consent. Instead of an amorphous, indefinable quality of contracting parties, bargaining power may now be characterized as a series of discrete inputs that can be identified, evaluated, exchanged and owned. …

Cybertrespass And Trespass To Documents, Kevin Emerson Collins

Cleveland State Law Review

In this essay, I offer only a small contribution to the ongoing cybertrespass debate that I believe allows the debate to be seen from a different perspective. In other words, I add a new story to the mix. I explore what I call trespass to documents. The cases applying trespass to documents are real-space, pre-Internet variants of a subset of the cybertrespass cases. They demonstrate that property rights in the tangible medium on which information is inscribed have not historically been broad enough to trump the complicated balancing of interests that characterizes information law when free-speech and competition-policy concerns are …

Capturing Ideas: Copyright And The Law Of First Possession, Abraham Drassinower

Cleveland State Law Review

Part II of this paper, entitled “Wish and Deed,” sets forth an account of the law of first possession through an analysis of the classic case of Pierson v. Post. Part III, entitled “Idea and Expression,” briefly sets forth an account of the idea/expression dichotomy in copyright law through discussion of the classic case of Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation. On that basis, Part III unfolds a correspondence between animus and factum in property law and idea and expression in copyright law. Part IV, entitled “Things and Speech,” suggests through discussion of the classic case of Feist that central doctrines …

Exporting Dmca Lockouts, Anupam Chander

Cleveland State Law Review

My goal here is limited. I do not attack the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA as wholly misguided; the desire to prevent widespread piracy of copyrighted works is understandable. At the same time, I do not mean to suggest that the critique I offer here is the sum of the adverse consequences of that statute, including for speech and education. My argument is limited to the threat posed by the export of the DMCA anti-circumvention rules, which do not explicitly guard against the anti-competitive use of those rules.Part I briefly sketches the difficulties created domestically by a DMCA inattentive to …

Regulation Of Municipal Wi-Fi, Michael Botein

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Markets For Markets: Origins And Subjects Of Information Markets, Miriam A. Cherry, Robert L. Rogers

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

After the death of Pope John Paul II, a papal conclave convened to elect his successor. The media speculated that certain candidates were the "frontrunners" to watch. At the same time, pools formed on web sites to predict the outcome of the conclave, either for fun (using virtual money) or for profit. Throughout the days that the conclave met in April of 2005, trading continued, and ultimately the various markets predicted both that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger would emerge as the next pope and that he would choose the name Benedict XVI. After the white smoke signifying a new pope …

Beyond Patents: The Cultural Life Of Native Healing And The Limitations Of The Patent System As A Protective Mechanism For Indigenous Knowledge On The Medicinal Uses Of Plants, Ikechi Mgbeoji

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The question that this paper seeks to tackle is whether in the contest of allegations of biopiracy and in the search for effective mechanisms for the protection of indigenous knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants possessed by traditional healers of southern Nigeria, there is any role for the patent regime. Given the popularity of alternative forms of health care, this question is of importance in contemporary discourse.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Neal H. Lewis

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Welcome to the third issue of the Richmond Journal of Law & Technology for the 2005-2006 academic year. Volume 12, Issue 3 deals with contemporary issues of law and technology involving privacy, academics, and healthcare.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Jon S. Player

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology (“JOLT”) is proud to present the first issue of the 2006 -2007 academic year. Volume 13, Issue 1 is the product of the Journal’s Third Annual Student Writing Competition, held in the spring semester of 2006. As always, the student writing competition focuses on emerging issues in the field of technology and the law. This year’s issue holds special significance to JOLT’s staff, as it was made possible by the generous donation of Mr. Richard Klau. His contribution to our publication will allow us to recognize the brightest student minds in the legal …

Reining In The Data Traders: A Tort For The Misuse Of Personal Information, Sarah Ludington

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chaos In Public Schools: Federal Courts Yield To Students While Administrators And Teachers Struggle To Control The Increasingly Violent And Disorderly Scholastic Environment, Michael C. Jacobson

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note argues that the current legal standard for restricting students' First Amendment rights in public schools, established by Tinker v. Des Moines, is inadequate as it requires schools to wait for disruptions before acting, potentially leading to violence. It advocates for a more proactive approach, allowing schools to suppress speech if there is a reasonable likelihood of disruption, based on factors like past incidents or specific threats. This proposed standard aims to balance safety with free speech while prioritizing a secure learning environment.

Pop-Up Ads And Trademark Infringement: Whenu.Com Litigation, Janet Rubin

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

As Soft As Tofu: Consumer Product Defamation On The Chinese Internet, Elizabeth Spahn

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the most notorious Chinese internet defamation case, Wang Hong v. Maxstation, which awarded substantial damages against an individual consumer as well as two online magazines for criticizing a laptop product on the internet. The case created a widespread political controversy on the internet in China, highlighting an underlying tension in the current policies of the Chinese government, which promotes a more open market economy while maintaining tight censorship over public speech. The case developed landmark legal doctrine in China, extending judge made defamation law while ignoring the Chinese consumer protection statute. Extending defamation doctrine to include factual …

Censure The Tree For Its Rotten Apple: Attributing Liability To Parents For The Copyright Infringement Of Their Minor Children, Chad Silver

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note argues that holding parents legally responsible for copyright infringement committed by their minor children could serve as an effective deterrent against illegal music downloading. It explores the legal frameworks for parental liability, including contributory and vicarious liability, and evaluates the potential benefits and challenges of this approach in addressing the decline of the recording industry due to illegal file sharing.

Dawn Of The Death Of Distributed Denial Of Service: How To Kill Zombies, Lilian Edwards

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Gibson V. Prs: The Applicability Of The Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine To Trademarked Product Shapes, Paul Anthony Marchisotto

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Jurisdiction And The Internet: Returning To Traditional Principles To Analyze Network-Mediated Contacts, A. Benjamin Spencer

Faculty Publications

Courts have been evaluating the issue of personal jurisdiction based on Internet or "network-mediated" contacts for some time. The U.S. Supreme Court has remained silent on this issue, permitting the federal appeals courts to develop standards for determining when personal jurisdiction based on network-mediated contacts is appropriate. Unfortunately, the circuit approaches-which emphasize a Web site's "interactivity" and "target audience" -are flawed because they are premised on an outdated view of Internet activity as uncontrollably ubiquitous. This view has led courts to depart from traditional jurisdictional analysis and impose elevated and misguided jurisdictional standards. This article argues that courts should reinstitute …

The Grokster Dead-End, Bryan H. Choi

Publications

No abstract provided.

Let The People Know The Facts: Can Government Information Removed From The Internet Be Reclaimed?, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

Ms. Mart examines the legal bases of the public's right to access government information, reviews the types of information that have recently been removed from the Internet, and analyzes the rationales given for the removals. She suggests that the concerted use of the Freedom of Information Act by public interest groups and their constituents is a possible method of returning the information to the Internet.

Today's Indian Wars: Between Cyberspace And The United Nations, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

Warring Ideologies For Regulating Military Blogs: A Cyberlaw Approach For Balancing Free Speech And Security In Cyberspace, Julia E. Mitchell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this note provides an overview of the use of media during war. It also reviews case law relating to the military's limited right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment. Part II analyzes the problems of regulating milblogs in terms of societal costs and the technological challenges of regulating behavior on the Internet. This note argues that the military's "unexceptionalist" approach toward regulation, wherein it applies the traditional principles embodied in the UCMJ to milblog regulation, undermines its goal of maintaining operational security and impedes the free flow of ideas. Finally, Part II introduces an "exceptionalist" …

Protecting Children From The Dark Side Of The Internet, Anne Dupre, John Dayton, Christine Kiracofe

Scholarly Works

This article examines the history of judicial and legislative responses to the issue of consumption of pornography and other harmful materials over the Internet by children. The article begins by giving a brief overview of free speech law in the US. Next, summaries of relevant U.S. legislation and corresponding litigation on Internet free speech are given. Highlighted are: 1) the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s response in Reno v. ACLU; 2) The Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition; 3) the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and United States v. American …

Internet Cookies: When Is Permission Consent?, Max Oppenheimer

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rfid Et Administration Publique: Le Citoyen Sous Surveillance?, Anthony Hémond

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Lorsque les gouvernements et l’Administration se lancent dans la mise en place d’une nouvelle technologie, il leur faut, au préalable, analyser les enjeux et les risques de ce déploiement.

Tel sera l’essentiel de nos développements. Nous verrons comment, notamment à travers la mise en place du e-passeport, la technologie RFID peut être intégrée au sein de l’Administration. Le choix de cette nouvelle génération de passeports n’est pas anodin: si dans certains domaines les donne ́es qu’ils contiennent sont précieuses, dans d’autres, notamment celui de la santé, les informations sur les personnes sont très sensibles. Il faut donc maîtriser les risques …

Beyond Content: The Emergence Of Video Games And Their Diverse Effects On Legal Normativity As Seen Through The Lens Of Jean Baudrillard, Stephen Orr

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Current legal discourse about video games focuses primarily on freedom of speech issues relating to the content of games. Using the work of Jean Baudrillard (and to a small extent Marshall McLuhan) this article reconsiders how we should conceptualize the regulation of video games. Baudrillard's theories are particularly interesting to explore as his pessimistic reflections about technology challenge us to contemplate how profoundly the form of new communicative technologies, such as video games, shape human interactions. Appealing to both theorists' belief that "the medium is the message", this article argues that we should be wary of focusing legal energy exclusively …

Market Triumphalism, Electoral Pathologies, And The Abiding Wisdom Of First Amendment Access Rights, Gregory P. Magarian

Scholarship@WashULaw

Forty years ago, Professor Jerome Barron made the classic case that the First Amendment requires not merely protection of speech against government interference but provision of access to the means of mass communication. The Supreme Court in the ensuing decades has largely rejected Barron's approach. In this article, Professor Magarian defends Barron's case for access rights against the two theoretical critiques that have underwritten its doctrinal rejection. The libertarian critique attacks the normative underpinnings of access rights, maintaining that the First Amendment insulates market-driven distributions of expressive opportunities. Professor Magarian demonstrates that politically progressive and conservative libertarian critics of access …

The World Trade Law Of Censorship And Internet Filtering, Tim Wu

Faculty Scholarship

Consider the following events, all from the last five years: (1) An American newsmagazine, Barron's, posts an unflattering profile of an Australian billionaire named Joseph Gutnick on its web site – the publisher, Dow Jones, Inc., is sued in Australia and forced to settle; (2) Mexico's incumbent telephone company, Telmex, blocks Mexicans from reaching the web site of the Voice-over-IP firm Skype; (3) the United States begins a major crackdown on web gambling services, causing serious economic damage to several small Caribbean economies; (4) the Chinese government prevents its citizens from using various foreign Internet services, including foreign e-mail and …

Network Neutrality: Competition, Innovation, And Nondiscriminatory Access, Tim Wu

Faculty Scholarship

The best proposals for network neutrality rules are simple. They ban abusive behavior like tollboothing and outright blocking and degradation. And they leave open legitimate network services that the Bells and Cable operators want to provide, such as offering cable television services and voice services along with a neutral internet offering. They are in line with a tradition of protecting consumer's rights on networks whose instinct is just this: let customers use the network as they please. No one wants to deny companies the right to charge for their services and charge consumers more if they use more. But what …