Computer Law


Book Description

"Early treatment of computer law was no more than the application of existing principles to novel sets of facts. Today, it has been recognized generally that computing technology does indeed give rise to unique legal problems which are not resolvable by applying existing legal principles. This is particularly apparent where transactions are carried out through the exchange of digital information rather than human interaction. The developing law which seeks to resolve these problems is at the heart of the latest edition of this book, now established as a standard text on computer law for students, practitioners, and business in general for whom information technology is an integral part of their daily activities."--BOOK JACKET.




Law for Computer Scientists and Other Folk


Book Description

This book introduces law to computer scientists and other folk. Computer scientists develop, protect, and maintain computing systems in the broad sense of that term, whether hardware (a smartphone, a driverless car, a smart energy meter, a laptop, or a server), software (a program, an application programming interface or API, a module, code), or data (captured via cookies, sensors, APIs, or manual input). Computer scientists may be focused on security (e.g. cryptography), or on embedded systems (e.g. the Internet of Things), or on data science (e.g. machine learning). They may be closer to mathematicians or to electrical or electronic engineers, or they may work on the cusp of hardware and software, mathematical proofs and empirical testing. This book conveys the internal logic of legal practice, offering a hands-on introduction to the relevant domains of law, while firmly grounded in legal theory. It bridges the gap between two scientific practices, by presenting a coherent picture of the grammar and vocabulary of law and the rule of law, geared to those with no wish to become lawyers but nevertheless required to consider the salience of legal rights and obligations. Simultaneously, this book will help lawyers to review their own trade. It is a volume on law in an onlife world, presenting a grounded argument of what law does (speech act theory), how it emerged in the context of printed text (philosophy of technology), and how it confronts its new, data-driven environment. Book jacket.




Human Law and Computer Law: Comparative Perspectives


Book Description

The focus of this book is on the epistemological and hermeneutic implications of data science and artificial intelligence for democracy and the Rule of Law. How do the normative effects of automated decision systems or the interventions of robotic fellow ‘beings’ compare to the legal effect of written and unwritten law? To investigate these questions the book brings together two disciplinary perspectives rarely combined within the framework of one volume. One starts from the perspective of ‘code and law’ and the other develops from the domain of ‘law and literature’. Integrating original analyses of relevant novels or films, the authors discuss how computational technologies challenge traditional forms of legal thought and affect the regulation of human behavior. Thus, pertinent questions are raised about the theoretical assumptions underlying both scientific and legal practice.







Computer Crime Law


Book Description

This book introduces the future of criminal law. It covers every aspect of crime in the digital age, assembled together for the first time. Topics range from Internet surveillance law and the Patriot Act to computer hacking laws and the Council of Europe cybercrime convention. More and more crimes involve digital evidence, and computer crime law will be an essential area for tomorrow's criminal law practitioners. Many U.S. Attorney's Offices have started computer crime units, as have many state Attorney General offices, and any student with a background in this emerging area of law will have a leg up on the competition. This is the first law school book dedicated entirely to computer crime law. The materials are authored entirely by Orin Kerr, a new star in the area of criminal law and Internet law who has recently published articles in the Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, NYU Law Review, and Michigan Law Review. The book is filled with ideas for future scholarship, including hundreds of important questions that have never been addressed in the scholarly literature. The book reflects the author's practice experience, as well: Kerr was a computer crime prosecutor at the Justice Department for three years, and the book combines theoretical insights with practical tips for working with actual cases. Students will find it easy and fun to read, and professors will find it an angaging introduction to a new world of scholarly ideas. The book is ideally suited either for a 2-credit seminar or a 3-credit course, and should appeal both to criminal law professors and those interested in cyberlaw or law and technology. No advanced knowledge of computers and the Internet is required or assumed.







Copyright Law and Computer Programs


Book Description

This book analyzes U.S. federal cases on the copyright protection of computer software programs, to examine the role of communication in legal decision making process. It is the first to apply Anthony Giddens' theory of structuration to analyze law in a systematic and empirical way. Previous studies considered law to be independent, objective and neutral, and even those that considered social structures and actors focused on economic and political factors. Employing the framework of the author, the work, and the use, this study attempts to show how relationships and struggles of the parties are actually manifested through communication, and how the strategic communication of the parties influences the structural environment of copyright law. There has been a long-running debate over whether and how the copyright law, evolved from the era of the print technology, should be applied to computer programs, a new work of authorship. Contrary to some cautionary arguments that modern copyright law tends to protect copyright holders while disregarding authors' rights, the struggle between developers and non-developers, rather than between copyright holders and non-copyright holders, was clearly manifested in legal arguments. The construct of authorship has been modified, yet remained central in copyright discourse. On the other hand, the concept of the use, despite the significance of users in copyright regime, has yet to be developed to play an important role in the legal arguments. Moreover, the factor of whether the party was a developing entity, was found to be a single most important factor influencing the courts' decisions. But only when the party could successfully present itself as the one involved with developing activities, the court was more likely to accept its argument than the other party's. Therefore, it was the legitimacy gained by communicating the nature of the party, rather than the nature of the party itself, that made the difference in the ways the courts made decisions. This book presents how, in this process of strategic communication, the structure of copyright law was reproduced and transformed.




Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal: Volume 41, Number 1 - 2015


Book Description

The Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal offers its issues in convenient and modern ebook formats for e-reader devices, apps, pads, smartphones, and computers. This first issue of Volume 41, 2015, features new articles and student contributions on cutting-edge topics related to: teleradiology, jurisdiction, and malpractice; teaching 'next gen' research methods such as Ravel and Casetext to law students; regulating 3D-printing as firearms creators; employment, privacy, and social media; and privacy issues of cell phone tracking. In the new ebook edition, quality presentation includes active TOC, linked notes, active URLs in notes, proper digital and Bluebook formatting, and inclusion of images and tables from the original print edition. Founded in 1969, the Journal is the oldest computer law periodical in the academic world. Since its inception, the Journal has maintained a tradition of excellence, and has designed each publication issue to foster critical discourse on the technological breakthroughs impacting the legal landscape.




Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal: Volume 40, Number 2 - 2014


Book Description

The Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal now offers its issues in convenient and modern ebook formats for e-reader devices, apps, pads, smartphones, and computers. This second issue of Volume 40, 2014, features new articles and student contributions on topics related to: using tech to enhance pro bono work, using tech in the law classroom, BitTorrent copyright trolling, taxation of e-commerce and internet sales, and cyber insurance and tangible property. The issue also includes the annual, extensive Bibliography -- in grouped order with a useful, linked Index -- of articles and essays in all the academic journals related to technology, computers, the internet, and the law. In the new ebook edition, quality presentation includes active TOC, linked notes and Index, active URLs in notes, proper digital and Bluebook formatting, and inclusion of images and tables from the original print edition.




Computer Science and Law


Book Description

Workshop sponsored by the Science Research Council of the United Kingdom and the Scientific and Technical Research Committee of the EEC.