Law X.0

Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions

Updated regularly, the Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions is one of the web's foremost case digests, providing in-depth analysis of over 470 court decisions affecting those who do business on the Internet.

Court decisions are organized by subject matter.  Within each subject, cases are organized alphabetically by case name.  There, you will find a brief synopsis of the court's decision.  If the case is of interest, click on the case name, and you will be taken to a more thorough analysis.  In most cases, we also provide the full text of the court's decision, either via a downloadable pdf, or via a link to a location at which it can be found on the Internet. 

A free electronic newsletter, Internet Law Update, is available to provide you with the latest cases added to the Library.  A full text search engine is also available to assist in utilizing the Library's resources.

The Internet Law Library has analyzed cases covering a broad array of topics, including trademark and copyright infringement, dilution, use of meta tags, links, thumbnails and framing, browse wrap, click wrap and shrink wrap agreements, domain name disputes, internet service provider liability, subpoenas, online defamation, gripe sites, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, jurisdiction, the legality of gambling on the Internet, search engine advertising, licensing requirements for the operation of an online pharmacy and automobile distributorship, the legality of keying and cookies, use of e-mail in the work place, spam, the legality of pop-up ads and spyware, and First Amendment issues arising out of governmental regulation of the Internet, among others.

Hat tip to Tech Law Prof Blog. [JH]

OCED Report on Social Media

Participative Web and User-Created Content: Web 2.0, Wikis and Social Networking
OECD

Free e-book (PDF)
124 pages | October 2007
ISBN 978-92-64-03746-5

From the summary: This study describes the rapid growth of “user-created content” (UCC), its increasing role in worldwide communication and draws out implications for policy. Questions addressed include: What is user-created content? What are its key drivers, its scope and different forms? What are new value chains and business models? What are the extent and form of social, cultural and economic opportunities and impacts? What are associated challenges? Is there a government role and what form could it take?

This study further expands published OECD work, exploring the development, rise and impacts of user-created content (UCC) in greater detail, and drawing out implications for policy. Questions addressed include What is user-created content? What are its key drivers, its scope and what different forms does it take? What are new value chains and business models? What is the extent of its economic, social and cultural impacts? What are associated challenges? Is there a government role and, if there is, what form could it take?

[JH]

Blogs in Plain English

The great folks at Common Craft Paperworks produced this three minute video for people who wonder why blogs are such a big deal. [JH]

Belated Happy 10th Anniversary Weblog

The BBC is reporting that the word "weblog" was coned ten years ago on December 17 1997 by Jorn Barger to describe what he was doing with his pioneering Robot Wisdom web page. And that blog is still online! [JH]

Differences Among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites

In Whose Space? Differences Among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1) (2007), Eszter Hargittai examimes predictors of social media site usage, with particular focus on Facebook, MySpace, Xanga, and Friendster based on survey data administered to a diverse group of young adults. From the abstract:

Findings suggest that use of such sites is not randomly distributed across a group of highly wired users. A person's gender, race and ethnicity, and parental educational background are all associated with use, but in most cases only when the aggregate concept of social network sites is disaggregated by service. Additionally, people with more experience and autonomy of use are more likely to be users of such sites. Unequal participation based on user background suggests that differential adoption of such services may be contributing to digital inequality.

[JH]

Just Released: Blogging Heroes

Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers
by Michael A. Banks

List Price: $24.95
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Wiley (December 10, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0470197390
ISBN-13: 978-0470197394

Book Description: With over 100 million blogs out there, how do a small number of bloggers set themselves apart from the pack? That's the question that drove Michael A. Banks to go out an sit down with thirty of the best-known blogger and try to find out what makes their blogs influential, ground-breaking, and singularly successful. These thirty bloggers have been featured in Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, and on CNN, NPR, and MSBNC. For some it's an addictive hobby, for others it's how they make a living. But for all of them, it's their passion.

Sounds interesting in a Christmas gift sort of way. [JH]

Bloggers interviewed in Blogging Heroes include:

• Dave Taylor The Intuitive Life Business Blog
• Chris Anderson The Long Tail
• Gina Trapani Lifehacker
• Ina Steiner AuctionBytes
• Mary Jo Foley All About Microsoft
• Dave Rothman TeleRead
• Frank Warren PostSecret
• Mike Masnick Techdirt
• Mark Frauenfelder BoingBoing.net
• Robert Scoble Scobleizer
• Peter Rojas Engadget
• John Neff Autoblog
• Ken Fisher Ars Technica
• Deborah Petersen Life in the Fast Lane
• Joel Comm JoelComm.com
• Brian Lam Gizmodo
• Kristin Darguzas ParentDish
• Chris Grant Joystiq
• Scott McNulty The Unofficial Apple Weblog
• Philipp Lenssen Google Blogoscoped
• Brad Hill Weblogs, Inc.
• Steve Rubel Micro Persuasion
• Rebecca Lieb ClickZ
• Deidre Woollard Luxist
• Gary Lee An Internet Marketing Web Site
• Richard MacManus Read/WriteWeb
• Eric T. Internet Duct Tape
• Victor Agreda DIY Life
• Steve Garfield Steve Garfield's Video Blog
• Grant Robertson Download Squad

10 Web Shows To Watch During the Writers Strike

PC Magazine's Molly K. McLaughlin recommends Clark and Michael, Cube Fablous, Onion News Network, The Burg, Quarterlife, Jonathon Bird's Blue World, Happy Tree Friends, DiggNation, Derek and Simon, and Ze Frank. Check out the slideshows for each recommendation. My favorite is Cube Fablous. [JH]