Cases, Statutes, & Topical Highlights
Cyberspace Law & Policy

E-Commerce and Related Issues

• Freedom of Expression
  • Spam
    • Cyber Promotions, Inc. v. America Online, Inc., No. 96-2486 (E.D. Pa. 1996)

    • Compuserve, Inc. v. Cyberpromotions, Inc., 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S.D. Ohio 1997)

    • America Online v. IMS, 24 F. Supp. 2d 548 (E.D. Va. 1998)

    • Recent U.S. Legislation

  • Anonymity, Pseudonymity, Trade Names, etc.
    • ACLU v. Miller, 977 F. Supp. 1228 (N.D. Ga. 1997)

• MP3 Issues
  • MP3.Com

  • MP3Now.Com

  • Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) v. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., 180 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 1999) (the "Rio" case)

  • The Jeffrey Levy Prosecution (University of Oregon) (1999)

  • UMG Recordings et al v. MP3.Com (May 2000)

  • A&M Records v. Napster (2000)

• Electronic Contracts
  • The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) (draft)

  • Digital Signatures
    • The Utah Digital Signature Act (first state digital signature law in the U.S.)

    • The German Digital Signature Act (first digital signature law in Europe)

    • Related U.S. Case Law
      • Parma Tile Mosaic & Marble Co., Inc. v. Estate of Fred Short, 155 Misc.2d 950, 590 N.Y.S.2d 1019 (1992)

      • WPP Group USA, Inc. v. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., 644 N.Y.S.2d 205 (1996)

      • Spevack v. National Community Bank of N.J.,677 A.2d 1168 (1996)

      • Schlafly v. Public Key Partners and RSA Data Security, Inc., 1997 WL 542711 (N.D. Cal. 1997)

• Tax Related Issues
  • The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998

• Trademark Law Generally
  • Brookfield Communications, Inc. v. West Coast Entertainment Corporation, 1999 WL 232014 (9th Cir. 1999)

  • Hard Rock Cafe Int'l, Inc. v. Peter A. Morton and Hard Rock Hotel, Inc., 1999 U.S. Dist. Lexis 8340 (S.D.N.Y. 1999)

  • Playboy v. Netscape and Excite, 1999 WL 428233 (C.D. Cal. 1999)

• Domain Name Disputes: Recent Issues and Developments
  • The U.S. Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act of 1999

  • Approved Agreements among ICANN, the Department of Commerce, and Network Solutions, Inc.
    (November 1999)
    • Berkman Center Analysis of ICANN-DOC-NSI Agreements

  • Domain Name Disputes Generally (Archive)

• U.S. Regulatory Activity by the FTC and the SEC

Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace

• Restrictions on Speech in the International Community

• The First Amendment - U.S. Constitution

• Traditional First Amendment Jurisprudence - Relevant Cases
  • Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147 (1959)

  • Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept., 397 U.S. 728 (1970)

  • FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S.726 (1978)

  • Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74 (1980)

  • Bethel School Dist. v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986)

  • Sable Communications of Cal, Inc. v. FCC, 492 U.S. 115 (1989)

  • Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557 (1995)

• Differing Approaches to the First Amendment in Cyberspace
  • The "Church of Scientology" Cases (1995-1996)

  • ALA v. Pataki, 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 8793 (S.D.N.Y.1997)

• Obscenity & Pornography
  • Definitions of Obscenity and Child Pornography under U.S. Law

  • U.S. v. Thomas, 74 F. 3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996)

  • Reno v. ACLU, 117 S.Ct. 2329 (U.S. Supreme Court - 1997)

  • The CompuServe Germany Case (May 1998)

  • American Civil Liberties Union v. Johnson, 4 F. Supp. 2d 1024 (D.N.M. 1998)

  • Doe v. America Online, 718 So. 2d 385 (Fla. App.1998)

  • ApolloMedia Corp. v. Reno, 19 F. Supp. 2d 1081 (N.D. Cal 1998)

  • Beussink v. Woodland R-IV, 30 F. Supp. 2d 1175 (E.D. Mo 1998)

  • The Child Online Protection Act ("Son of CDA") (1998)

  • ACLU v. Reno II 31 F. Supp. 2d 473 (E.D. Penn 1999)

  • U.S. v. Hilton, 167 F.3d 61 (1st Cir. 1999)

  • Free Speech Coalition v. Reno 198 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 1999)

• Requirements for Public Schools Offering Internet Access
• California Education Code Section 51870.5 (and related provisions)
• Internet Filtering
• Mainstream Loudoun v. Board Of Trustees Of Loudoun County Library, Civil Action No. 97-2049-A (E.D. Va. - Nov. 23, 1998)
• Kathleen R. v. City of Livermore, No. V-015266-4 (CA Ct. of Appeal - Pending - 2000)

• Defamatory Statements
• Basic Principles of Defamation Law
• Cubby v. CompuServe, 776 F. Supp. 135 (1991)

• Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy, 1995 N.Y. Misc. Lexis 229; Motion for Renewal Denied, December 1995.

• Zeran v. America Online 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997)

• Blumenthal v. Drudge and America Online, 992 F.Supp. 44 (D.D.C. 1998)

• Online Threats

• Free Speech and the Higher Education Community
  • U.S. v. Jake Baker, 890 F. Supp. 1375 (E.D. Mich. 1995)

  • Loving v. Boren (W.D. Oklahoma 1997)

  • U.S. v. Machado, No. SACR 96-142-AHS (S.D.Cal. 1998)

  • Urofsky v. Gilmore, 167 F.3d 191 (4th Cir. 1999)

• Freedom of Expression and Social Responsibility
  • Anarchists, Militias, & the Oklahoma City Bombing

  • Journalism and Ethics - The Ongoing Controversy

Intellectual Property Issues

• The Debate regarding the Applicability of Intellectual Property Law

• Intellectual Property Law, Cultural Differences, & the International Community

• The Berne Convention

• Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

• Basic Principles of U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW in General
  • The Federal Statutory Scheme: The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 (as amended in 1994), including the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 and the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992

  • When Protection Arises
    • Original Work, and Fixed in Tangible Medium of Expression

    • Only Minimal Creativity Required

  • Protects Expression, Not Idea

  • Five Exclusive Rights of Copyright Owner
    • Reproduction Right

    • Modification Right (aka Derivative Works Right)

    • Distribution Right

    • Public Performance Right

    • Public Display Right

  • Term of Copyright Protection
    • On or After 1/1/78 - Life of Author Plus 70 Years

    • Works Created for Hire & Owned by Corporations - 95 Years

  • Additional Rights Recognized under Various Laws
    • Right of Attribution

    • Right of Integrity

    • Right of Publicity (Commercial Use of Own Image)

  • Licenses
    • Can Be Either Express or Implied

    • When a License Is Not Necessary
      • If Use is "Fair Use"

      • If Work Is in Public Domain

      • If Material Is Factual or an Idea

• Parameters of the Fair Use Doctrine
  • Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985)

  • Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 114 S.Ct. 1164 (1994)

  • Religious Technology Center v. Lerma, No. 95-1107-A (E.D. Va 1996)

  • Leibovitz v. Paramount, 137 F.3d 109 (2nd Cir. 1998)

  • L.A. Times v. Free Republic, No. 98-7840 (C.D. Cal. 1999)

  • Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp. et al, 1999 U.S. Dist. Lexis 19304 (C.D. Cal. 1999)

• U.S Copyright Law and the Education Community
  • U.S. v. Lamacchia, 871 F. Supp. 535 (D. Mass. 1994)

  • Princeton University Press v. Michigan Document Services, Inc. 99 F. 3d 1381 (6th Cir. 1996)

  • Distance Learning Issues

  • Online Dissertations

  • Electronic Books & Journals

  • Plagiarism.Org

• U.S. Copyright Law & Online Journalism
  • Washington Post Co. v. Total News, Inc., 97 Civ. 1190 (PKL) (S.D.N.Y. 1997)

  • Tasini v. New York Times et al (2d Cir. 1999)

• Other Relevant Copyright Disputes
  • Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)

  • Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Frena, 839 F. Supp. 1552 (M.D. Fla. 1993)

  • Sega Enterprises, Inc. v. Maphia, 857 F. Supp. 679 (N.D. Cal. 1994)

  • Apple v. Microsoft & Hewlett-Packard,35 F. 3d 1435 (9th Cir. 1994)

  • Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland Intl., Inc. 49 F. 3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)

  • NLFC v. Devcom, 45 F. 3d 231 (7th Cir. 1995)

  • Fonovisa, Inc. v. Cherry Auction, Inc., 76 F. 3d 259 (9th Cir. 1996)

  • ProCD v. Zeidenberg, 86 F. 3d 1447 (7th Cir. 1996)

  • NBA v. Motorola, Inc., 105 F. 3d. 841 (2nd Cir. 1997)

  • Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Webbworld, 968 F. Supp. 1171 (N.D. Tx 1997)

  • Storm Impact, Inc. v. Software of Month Club, 13 F. Supp. 2d 782 (N.D.Ill 1998)

  • Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 1999 WL 304052 (N.D. Cal. 1999)

  • Sun Microsystems v. Microsoft, 1999 WL 635783 (9th Cir. 1999)

• Recent U.S. Copyright Legislation
  • The 'No Electronic Theft' Act (Signed into Law - 1997)

  • The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (Signed into Law - 1998)
    • The RealNetworks v. Streambox Case (1999)

    • The MPAA DVD Case (January 2000)

• Recent European Community Directives

• Other Recent Legislative Initiatives in the International Community

• U.S. TRADEMARK LAW - Scope of Protection
  • The "Lanham Act" (including the Federal Trademark Dilution Act)

• Relevant Trademark Disputes
  • Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., Inc., 115 S. Ct. 1300 (1995)

  • Intermatic, Inc. v. Toeppen, 1996 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14878 (N.D. Ill. 1996)

  • Panavision International, L.P. v. Toeppen, 1996 U.S. Dist. Lexis 19698 (C.D. Cal. 1996)

  • Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Network Solutions, Inc., 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 15765 (C.D. Cal. 1997)

  • Planned Parenthood v. Bucci, 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 3338 (S.D.N.Y. 1997)

  • Labrador Software, Inc. v. Lycos, Inc. 32 F. Supp. 2d 31 (D.Mass. 1999)

  • Archdiocese of St. Louis and, Papal Visit 1999 v. Internet Entertainment Group, Inc. 34 F. Supp. 2d 1145 (E.D. MO. 1999)

  • Washington Speakers Bureau, Inc., v. Leading Authorities, Inc. 33 F. Supp. 2d 488 (E.D. Va. 1999)

  • America Online v. AT&T, 1999 U.S. Dist. Lexis 12615 (E.D. Va. 1999)

• Patent Law - Basic Principles
  • U.S Patent Act (as amended in 1994)

  • Unpatentable Subject Matter

  • The Software Patent Debate

  • In Re Alappat, 33 F. 3d 1526 (Fed. Cir. 1994)

  • Arrhythmia v. Corazonix, 958 F.2d 1053 (Fed. Cir. 1992)

• Trade Secret Law - Basic Approach

Privacy and Encryption

• Constitutional Rights to Privacy
  • Implied Rights under the Federal Constitution

  • Express Rights under State Constitutions

• The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986

• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998

• Privacy Rights under Tort Law

• The Right of Publicity
  • Sources of the Right
    • Privacy Law

    • Misappropriation

    • Trade Name Infringement

  • The Nature of the Right

• E-Mail Privacy Disputes
  • Flanagan v. Epson America, Inc., No. BC007036 (Cal. Super. Ct. Jan. 4, 1991)

  • Bourke v. Nissan Motor Corp., No. B068705 (Cal. Ct. of Appeals July 26, 1993)

  • Jessup-Morgan v. America Online, Inc., 20 F. Supp. 2d 1105 (E.D.Mich. 1998)

  • U.S. v. Kammersell, 7 F. Supp. 2d 1196 (D.Utah 1998)

• Cryptography and the Law
  • Electronic Anonymity in General

  • Proposed Escrowed Encryption Standards

  • Approaches to Encryption in the International Community

  • Recent Developments
    • ACLU of Georgia, v. Miller, 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14995 (N.D. Ga 1997)

    • Karn v. Department of State, 925 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1996)

    • Bernstein v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999)

Jurisdiction and Transborder Issues

• Personal Jurisdiction Disputes (as of October 1, 1996)

• Recent Cyberjurisdiction Cases
  • CompuServe v. Patterson, 89 F. 3d. 1257 (6th Cir. 1996)

  • Maritz, Inc. v. Cybergold, Inc., 1996 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14978 (E.D. Mo. 1996)

  • Minnesota v. Granite Gate Resorts, Inc., No. C6-95-7227 (D. Minn. December 1996)

  • McDonough v. Fallon McElligott, 1996 U.S. Dist. Lexis 15139 (S.D. Cal. 1996)

  • Network Solutions, Inc. v. Clue Computing, Inc., 946 F. Supp. 858 (D. Col. 1996)

  • Bensusan Restaurant v. King, 937 F. Supp. 295 (S.D.N.Y. 1996)

  • Zippo Manufacturing Company v. Zippo Dot Com., Inc., 952 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. Pa. 1997)

  • Digital Equipment Corporation v. Altavista Technology, Inc., 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 3457 (March 14, 1997)

  • Cybersell, Inc., an Arizona Corporation, v. Cybersell, Inc., a Florida Corporation, (9th Cir. 1997)

  • The Compuserve Germany Case, Munich, Germany - May 1998

  • Patriot Systems, Inc. v. C-Cubed Corp., 21 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (D.Utah 1998)

  • Conseco, Inc. v. Hickerson, 698 N.E. 2d 816 (Ind. App. 1998)

  • Bochan v. La Fontaine, 1999 WL 343780 (E.D. Va. 1999)

Safety Issues Generally

• Hackers

• Child Pornography
  • U.S. v. Hilton, 167 F.3d 61 (1st Cir. 1999)

  • U.S. v. Upham, 168 F. 3d 532 (1st Cir. 1999)

  • U.S. v. Amirault, 1999 WL 174256 (1st Cir. 1999)

  • U.S. v. Vincent, 167 F. 3d 428 (8th Cir. 1999)

  • U.S. v. Fabiano, 169 F. 3d 1299 (10th Cir. 1999)

• Cyberstalking

• Cybertheft

• Morality in Cyberspace

• Relevant U.S. Statutory Law
  • The Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute

  • The Federal Wiretap Act

  • State Statutes Generally

  • California Penal Code Section 502

  • The Connecticut Anti-Cyberstalking Statute

  • Recent Legislation

• Recent Case Law
  • U.S. v. Morris, 928 F.2d 504 (2d Cir. 1991)

  • Steve Jackson Games v. U.S. Secret Service, 36 F.3d 457 (5th Cir. 1994)

  • Putnam Pit, Inc. v. City of Cookeville, 23 F. Supp. 2d 822 (M.D.Tenn. 1998)

  • Boucher v. Schl Bd. of Schl Dist. Of Greenfield, 134 F.3d 821 (7th Cir. 1998)

• Law Enforcement in the International Community

Equity and Cyberspace

• Federal & State Rights under Constitutional Law

• Federal & State Statutory Schemes

• Access to Public Information Generally
  • The Federal Freedom of Information Act

  • State Freedom of Information Laws

  • Right to Receive Information under the First Amendment

  • The Tension between Freedom of Information Laws & Intellectual Property Laws

  • The Debate regarding Universal Access to the Internet

  • Equal Access to Cyberspace in K-12 Public Schools