Information Law and Policy || Infosys 205 || Spring 2005

Information Law and Policy
Infosys 205

Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30am-12:00pm
202 South Hall
Larry Downes

Spring 2005

Syllabus

The court cases in the syllabus are available through Lexis in addition to the local copies here. To access Lexis from a non UC computer, see these instructions.

Date	Topic	Readings	Assignments
3/1	Introduction to Information Law and Policy	Samuelson, Five Challenges Barlow, Declaration Ryan, No Legal Theory
3/3	Employer and Employee Information Rights I – Trade Secrets	Wexler v. Greenberg Cybertek v. Whitfield
3/8	Employer and Employee Information Rights II – Non-Compete	KGB v. Gionnoulas Cal Code § 16600	Assignment 1 due
3/10	Employer and Employee Information Rights III – Copyright and Patent	Aymes v. Bonelli Aetna-Standard v. Rowland
3/15	Intellectual Property I: Copyright Protection for Data and Databases	Feist v. Rural Telephone CCC v. Maclean Hunter
3/17	Intellectual Property II: Limits on Data Protection	Warren v. Microdos NBA v. Motorola EU Directive	Assignment 2 due
3/22	*NO CLASS!*
3/24	*SPRING BREAK!*
3/29	Peer-to-Peer and the Limits of Liability	MGM v. Grokster
3/31	X-Wrap Licenses & Open Source	ProCD v. Zeidenberg UCITA Provisions Linux GPL
4/5	Licensing and Liability	Mortenson v. Timberline Williams v. AOL Cardozo v. True Aetna v. Jeppesen
4/7	U.S. Policy on Security	National Strategy	Assignment 3 due
4/12	The "Privacy" "Debate"	EU Directive FTC Privacy Report GM and Europe (handout) Cal. Sen. Bill. 1834 (2004)
4/14	E-Commerce	Granholm v. Heald
4/19	Criminal Law I – Spam/Spyware	Spy Act (proposed) Can-Spam Act (2003)
4/21	Criminal Law II – DMCA	Lexmark v. Static Control Online Policy Group v. Diebold
4/26	Concluding Thoughts	Easterbrook, Law of the Horse	Assignment 4 due

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Grades and Assignments

Grading will be based on four written assignments as well as class participation. Each written assignment will be returned with a grade.

· Written Assignment 1 -1 ½ pages. 10% of grade. Due Date: March 8, 2005. Comments on Assignment 1.

· Written Assignment 2 - 2-3 pages. 15% of grade. Due Date: March 17, 2005. Comments on Assignment 2.

· Written Assignment 3 - 2-3 pages. 15% of grade. Due Date: April 7, 2005. Comments on Assignment 3.

· Written Assignment 4 - 10-12 pages. 40% of grade. Due Date: April 26, 2005.

· Class Participation/Instructor Discretion - 20% of grade.

Assignments will be due on the due date given. There will be no extensions. Please don't offer any excuse you wouldn't feel comfortable giving an employer. Grammar, spelling, and organization count!

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Resources

Here are some good resources for students interested in learning more about the topics and techniques in IS 204:

Resources for Writers - From Prof. Van House
Prof. Samuelson's Legal writing advice

Good Sources for Legal Research and News (free) - The best sources for legal research are Lexis and Westlaw. As a UCB student, you have access to Lexis free from any UCB computer or from anywhere if you set up the UC Library proxy service. For free research tools, try:

Findlaw - An excellent set of basic research material, including articles, cases, and statutes
Legal Information Institute - A superior Supreme Court database from Cornell University
The American legal system - a good introduction by the U.S. Judicial Conference
Law.com - Another free news and information service (sponsored by American Lawyer magazine)
CNN - CNN's daily law news section
The Smoking Gun - A cult website devoted to unearthing public documents that embarrass just about everybody
SIMS Information Economy Project - A long list of additional resources for Intellectual Property issues from Prof. Varian
ALA UCITA Homepage - The American Library Association's resource center for information on the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act
Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions - Homepage for an anti-UCITA Group

Law and Technology - Several Public Interest groups offer information specifically dealing with issues at the intersection of law and technology:

ACLU - The ACLU Privacy and Technology Project
EPIC - The Electronic Privacy Information Center
EFF - The Electronic Frontier Foundation, founded by Mitch Kapor and John Perry Barlow, takes a libertarian approach to problems of law and technology
Center for Democracy and Technology
Samuelson Law Technology and Public Policy Clinic - Prof. Samuelson and Prof. Glushko sponsored the creation of this outstanding resource at the law school
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - A business perspective on issues of e-commerce to balance some of the above

Self-Help - Berkeley's own No Lo Press is an excellent starting place for help on specific legal problems. Note: This is no substitute for legal counsel in situations (e.g., employment-related questions) for which legal counsel is appropriate.

No Lo Press

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Class policies

I expect the following basic rules are agreed among us:

1. You and I will come to class and will not come late or leave early. You will let me know by email or voicemail if you will not be in class or need to arrive late or leave early.

2. You and I will read the material assigned for each class. You don’t need to completely understand each reading but you need to be able to turn any confusion into a question.

3. You and I will participate in class discussion. It is the quality, not the quantity, of participation that matters to me. I will not force people to speak in class, but if the same few people tend to be the only volunteers I expect you to accept conscription gracefully.

4. You and I will respect each other by turning off our cell phones and pagers throughout class. No exceptions. We will also show respect if not love for each other in agreeing or disagreeing on content of our comments and opinions.

5. You and I will respect each other by eating and drinking in class only if absolutely necessary and in a civilized way that our families would not be ashamed to watch.

6. You and I will discuss any problems with the course or course materials as soon as we become aware of them. Problems can be raised in class or in private as is most appropriate

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Contact info

Office hours: Thursday 3:00-5:00pm at 311 South Hall or by appointment
Email: larry@larrydownes.com
Phone: (510) 526-9547

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