Law and the World Wide Web
Legal 491s
Ethan Katsh (katsh@legal.umass.edu)
Teaching assistant: Alissa McLean (amclean@student.umass.edu)
Tuesday / Thursday 1 - 2:15
Course web site: http://www.odr.info/courses/fall2004

Text and readings

1. Bellia, Berman and Post, Cyberlaw: Problems of Policy and Jurisprudence in the Information Age (St.Paul: West, 2004) 2nd edition.

2. In addition to the text, we will be learning about law and the Internet using a variety of materials that can be found online. Links to these readings will be accessible from the readings link on the left.

3. We will also be relying on a cyberlaw newsletter that is free and that will be emailed to you several times a week. Please subscribe to it at http://ecommercecenter.bna.com/

Assignments, requirements and grades

1.  Grades will reflect attendance, participation in class, and written work. My office is in 107 Gordon Hall and my office hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10-11, or by appointment. I hope that you will stop by at least once during the semester. Alissa McLean will be assisting me and you should fell free to contact her if there is anything that she can help you with.

2.   There are two major writing requirements.

a - Post one contribution every week to a cyberlaw blog. A blog is a type of Web page that allows for an author to express thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways. It does not require any special technical skills and I will explain in class what is involved but you must be conscientious in posting one entry or comment each week starting the week of September 13th. There are two exceptions to this. First, you can miss one week of your choosing with no penalty. Second, if you miss a second week, you can make it up by posting two entries the following week. This can only be done once. Please make sure you understand this requirement since, with the exception just noted, you will be unable to make up missed work at the end of the semester. Please also note also that each week ends at 12:59 PM Sunday night and one of the things the blog does is keep track of when messages were posted. So, just in case your computer crashes, don't wait until the last minute. There are thousands of blogs on the Net but you can look at one I have some involvement in at http://www.odr.info

and

b. A research paper of 20-25 pages on a cyberlaw issue. Some possible topics are accessible from the projects link but please feel free to choose your own. The paper should reflect an understanding of the technology/law relationship that is at the heart of this course. I encourage you to speak to me as you plan and conduct your research. In addition to the written paper, each person will be given a few minutes during one of the last classes of the semester to report on his or her project. A two or three paragraph message indicating the project topic and areas of research should be emailed to me no later than October 12th.

c. In lieu of b, if you have technical skills or some specialized interest, I am open to other proposals.

4. If you need to miss a class, please let me know  <mailto:katsh@legal.umass.edu>  and check the online syllabus for the next class assignment. One of the things that you may already know about the Web is that information in the online environment is more fluid and changeable than information in print. In a somewhat similar way, an online syllabus provides opportunities for modification that are easier than when it is on paper. I would expect that the syllabus would be changed a few times during the semester so please refer to it when checking on readings and assignments. I also expect to add a few guests and will probably need to make some changes to accommodate their schedules.