Nicholas Johnson  Teaching Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 2000

NOTE: This page will be under construction for the next four months. It will, gradually, come to contain assignments, links to readings, students' Web pages, and papers, and other information relevant to the University of Iowa College of Law Spring 2000 Cyberspace Law Seminar. -- Nicholas Johnson, December 14, 1999; last updated May 7, 2001.

(Note: Of the class participants, 11 have been approved for writing credits. The following table indicates their current status, paper titles, and will -- once the papers are completed and posted to this site -- provide a link to the full text of each. -- N.J.)
 
 

Name	Status	Tentative Titles	Credits
Chris Gansen	[independent research] topic approved Apr. 4;		1
Robert Holub	topic approved; research conference Feb. 22; rough draft (in lieu outline) submitted Mar. 6/conference, approved Mar. 10; first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 4, Web posted Apr. 4; presentation Apr. 5	Celebrity in Cyberspace: Expanding the Right of Publicity with the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act	1
Henry Kass	topic approved; research conference/outline submitted/ conference, approved Mar. 7; preliminary first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 4; Web posted Apr. 20	Problems in Copyright Law: Can Congress’ Latest Addition to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Circumvent the First Amendment?	1
Charles Kierscht	topic approved; research conference Feb. 18; first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 6; Web posted Apr. 4; presentation Apr. 5	Accommodating the Geographical Doctrines of Concurrent Trademark Holders' Rights on the Boundary-less Internet	1
Tom Ksobiech	topic approved; research conference Feb. 18; outline submitted Mar. 6/conference, approved Mar. 10; paper Apr. 17; presentation Apr. 19	I Know It When I Double-Click on It: A Look at How the Internet Will Cause Change to Community Standard Analysis in Obscenity Cases	2
Kerrie Larson	topic approved; research conference Feb. 18; outline submitted Mar. 6/conference, approved Mar. 9; first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 5; presentation Apr. 12	The Domain Name Maze:  What is it and Why Should we be Worried?	2
Nicole Meer	topic approved; research conference Feb. 17; outline submitted Mar. 6/conference, approved Mar. 9; first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 7; presentation Apr. 12	Putting the Byte Into Crime: The Who, What, When, Where and Why of MP3 Liability	2
Dan Pinegar	[independent research; final March 18, 2001]	Abusing Electronic Communication and the First Amendment: Combating Electronic Harassment, Threats and Cyberstalking Pinegar Website version
Brett Schilling	topic approved; research conference Feb. 18; outline submitted Mar. 6/ conference, approved Mar. 6; first final Mar. 31, conference Apr. 5; final final Apr. 14; presentation Apr. 19	A Prescription for Disaster: The Online Prescription and Distribution of Pharmaceuticals	1
Marty Sutcliffe	topic approved; research conference Feb. 23; outline submitted Mar. 6/conference, approved Mar. 8; first final Mar. 30, conference Apr. 5; presentation Apr. 19	Defamation on the Internet: Searching for Community, Identity and Statutory Solutions	2
Lionel Weaver	topic approved; research conference Feb. 15; outline submitted/conference, approved Mar. 3; first final Mar. 29, conference Apr. 3; posted Apr. 10; no presentation	Internet Filters, Public Libraries, and the First Amendment	1

(Note: Participants have the option/opportunity, but not the course requirement (nor a source of extra credit), to prepare and post a personal Web page while enrolled in the seminar. -- N.J.)

    Chris Gansen [linked January 20, 2000]

    Gregory Johnson [linked January 13, 2000]

    Nicole Meer [linked February 8, 2000]

    Christopher Pierson [linked January 13, 2000]

    Dan Pinegar [linked February 8, 2000]

     Joshua Reider [linked February 24, 2000]

There are no required assignments as such between now (December 16, 1999) and the beginning of school. However, . . .

this should be a class that's fun for you. Otherwise why take it? It's not on the bar. Of course, it does lie at the center of everything you'll be doing as a lawyer over the next 50 years (your career). But most folks don't know that yet, so you're not superficially handicapped by not having it on your resume.

That being the case, the less familiar you are with the Internet the more I strongly urge you to play around with it over break, and check out some of the documents listed/linked below.

This semester will be somewhat different from the Cyberspace Law Seminars of the past. (I guess that's always been true.) Some of you will be taking the class as a seminar, with papers to write and present, and writing credits to receive. Most of you will be taking it as a conventional class, with readings, discussion, and a final exam. So bear that in mind in reading materials cited here from prior semesters.

Want a sample of where we'll be going to get much of our material for the readings? Check out Cyberspace Law Seminar graduate David Loundy's "E-Law Locator."

"Assignments and Overview" from last spring's class gives you a sense of what we did most recently.

Curious about your instructor? Check out almost anything from the main Web page and especially click on "About" --  with its references/links to activities reports, affiliations, bibliographies, recent publications, and resumes. His personal bookmarks are available to you. There are over 1000, and many of them are indexed under categories that will make it obvious to you how they relate to this seminar.

There is some reading you might want to do early. It will be an assignment, and the earlier you get to it the easier the course will be for you. Most can be found off of the main Web page with a click on "Writing."  (Then go down that page to a "small sampling of some of the more popular ones.") If a professor has not already assigned you "So You Want to be a Lawyer" it will give you some insight into the professional standards to which the instructor will hold you. "A Day in the Life" describes some of your instructor's frustrations as an FCC Commissioner. You can quickly dip in and out of some of the other items that may look relevant or of interest.

You'll also want to check out "Regulating the Cyber-Journalist," and "Law of Electronic Media: Concepts, Perspectives and Goals."  And don't forget the "E-Zines" -- magazines published on the Internet (sometimes only on the Internet). The fact that this site contains sample copies that are slightly dated is irrelevant at this point. They illustrate what's out there; you may want to subscribe to some; and instructions on how to do that are usually included.

And speaking of e-zines, one that I'm probably going to make required reading (a subscription is free) is Edupage. To check it out, and scroll through the last month's issues, go to the main Edupage site and then click on "the Edupage listserv archives page." If you want to subscribe now so much the better. You'll find the simple instructions there.

Early in the semester we will spend an hour or so discussing "general semantics" and its applicability to the law -- everything from contracts and trial practice to alternative dispute resolution and, yes, "cyberspace law." If you'd like to get a leg up on the reading assignment for that one (if you're not familiar with the field/literature it may require your reading it more than once anyway) you might want to take a look at Wendell Johnson, "The Communication Process and General Semantic Principles."

Having done that, there's no substitute for play: hours surfing the Internet, seeing what's out there, making bookmarks of useful sites, improving your skill with the alternative search engines, and so forth.

Just a few things to do over the holiday break if you want to get a bit of a head start on what's coming.

I look forward to seeing you the evening of January 12, 2000.

-- N.J., December 16, 1999

This Semester

Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 2000
 

Resources

Resources, General

Courses Taught Last Semester

Law of Electronic Media, Fall 1999

Economics of Law Practice Seminar, Fall 1999
 

Courses Taught in Previous Semesters

Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 1999

Entertainment Law, Spring 1999

Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 1998

Law of Electronic Media, Fall 1997

Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 1997
 
 

By contrast, for courses with seminar papers the student work is published through this site (as links from each course's main page), and is intended for lawyers, academics, journalists -- indeed anyone who might find it of use (again, subject to the usual copyright restrictions).

By "usual copyright restrictions" we mean that (a) all rights are reserved by the author, with, usually, (b) permission granted for individual use (viewing, linking, downloading, and printing limited to one copy). Any commercial, or other use, requires permission from the author.

If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments please e-mail them to me: njohnson@inav.net

-- Nicholas Johnson