Online Law : The SPA's Legal Guide to Doing Business on the Internet

Rating:
Summary: Slightly outdated on some points, but good general coverage
Review: Any book on "online law" that was published in 1996 is going to include _some_ things that are out of date. Nevertheless this volume has held up extremely well. And it was written by a group of attorneys who know their stuff in both law and technology.

The coverage is thorough. A short introductory chapter explains what's "new and different" about online law; then a second chapter gives an overview of the legal issues that affect e.g. websites and e-commerce.

After that, the books breaks out into subheadings, each including multiple chapters on specific topics. Part I covers information security; Part II, online transactions; Part III, intellectual property rights in electronic information; Part IV, the regulation of informational content; Part V, the regulation of online conduct. As if that weren't enough, there's an appendix that provides a quick overview of cryptography. (If you think you might actually need to work with the stuff, you'll eventually want to invest in Bruce Schneier's book. But this is a good intro.)

As I said, some of it is a _little_ out of date. There's a lot of talk, for example, about modifications to the Uniform Commercial Code that were under debate in 1996; and of course any book written in 1996 can't take account of, e.g., the Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act of 1997, let alone the final outcome of _New York Times v. Tasini_. But the underlying legal issues haven't changed much, and this volume is still about as good an introduction as you'll find.

If you want a solid grounding in the law relating to information technology, supplement this book with Jonathan Bick's _101 Things You Need to Know About Internet Law_ and you'll be in good shape. If you want to specialize in this field there are other books you'll want too, but by the time you need them you'll know what they are.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly outdated on some points, but good general coverage
Review: Any book on "online law" that was published in 1996 is going to include _some_ things that are out of date. Nevertheless this volume has held up extremely well. And it was written by a group of attorneys who know their stuff in both law and technology.

The coverage is thorough. A short introductory chapter explains what's "new and different" about online law; then a second chapter gives an overview of the legal issues that affect e.g. websites and e-commerce.

After that, the books breaks out into subheadings, each including multiple chapters on specific topics. Part I covers information security; Part II, online transactions; Part III, intellectual property rights in electronic information; Part IV, the regulation of informational content; Part V, the regulation of online conduct. As if that weren't enough, there's an appendix that provides a quick overview of cryptography. (If you think you might actually need to work with the stuff, you'll eventually want to invest in Bruce Schneier's book. But this is a good intro.)

As I said, some of it is a _little_ out of date. There's a lot of talk, for example, about modifications to the Uniform Commercial Code that were under debate in 1996; and of course any book written in 1996 can't take account of, e.g., the Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act of 1997, let alone the final outcome of _New York Times v. Tasini_. But the underlying legal issues haven't changed much, and this volume is still about as good an introduction as you'll find.

If you want a solid grounding in the law relating to information technology, supplement this book with Jonathan Bick's _101 Things You Need to Know About Internet Law_ and you'll be in good shape. If you want to specialize in this field there are other books you'll want too, but by the time you need them you'll know what they are.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference book
Review: I used Online Law as a reference for my E-Commerce project at the community college. It covered all the important topics in great detail. The book is organized like a textbook, so it is easy to find the information you need. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in doing business on the Internet.