Computers And The Law: An Introduction To Basic Legal Principles And Their Application In Cyberspace

This page intentionally left blank COMPUTERS AND THE LAW An Introduction to Basic Legal Principles and Their Application in Cyberspace Computers and the Law provides readers with an introduction to the legal issues associated with computing – particularly in the massively networked context of the Internet. Assuming no previous knowledge of the law or any special knowledge of programming or computer science, this textbook offers undergraduates of all disciplines and professionals in the computing industry an understanding of basic legal principles and an awareness of the peculiarities associated with legal issues in cyberspace. This is not a law school casebook; instead, a variety of relevant cases are presented in redacted form with the full cases available at an ancillary website. The pervasiveness of computing in modern society has generated numerous legal ambiguities. This book introduces readers to the fundamental workings of the law in the non-virtual world while suggesting the opportunity to create new types of laws with nontraditional goals to fit the demands of cyberspace. The late Robert Dunne was an Attorney and Senior Lecturer at Yale University’s Department of Computer Science, specializing in legal problems arising from the use of computers in contemporary society. He wrote on alternative paradigms for behavioral control in cyberspace, the impact of cyberspace on the legal profession, and Internet crime. Dunne was also Co-Director of Yale’s Center for Internet Studies and a Fellow of Yale’s Silliman College. Computers and the Law AN INTRODUCTION TO BASIC LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND THEIR APPLICATION IN CYBERSPACE Robert Dunne Yale University Published under the auspices of Rights International The Center for International Human Rights Law, Inc. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521886505 © Robert Dunne 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-65127-4 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-88650-5 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. For my favorite person, my daughter, Julia Contents PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii