Announcing the 2021 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook
If you’re an academic and would like a free evaluation copy, please email me. I can also share my presentation slides and lecture notes. You might also check out (1) my Internet Law course page, which includes 24 years of syllabi and old exams with sample answers, (2) my article on “Teaching Cyberlaw,” (3) my blog post on teaching Internet Law as an online-only course, and (4) my Canvas modules for the 2020 online-only course.
It has been a crazy year for Internet Law! Some of the major changes to the book this year:
- I added a note on the Copyright Claims Board.
- I added a new principal case on defamation, Bauer v. Brinkman.
- I completely redid my note on the CCPA (again…). I’ve now framed it as a note about California’s consumer privacy laws.
- I added a major note on the Van Buren v. US case, which overwrote most of my prior note on Nosal and Power Ventures.
Earlier this summer, I incorporated the Second Circuit’s Domen v. Vimeo ruling as a new principal case on Section 230(c)(2)(A). Then, when the Second Circuit vacated the opinion, I ripped it out of the book. I decided that the revised opinion, though still a good result, had gotten so garbled that it wasn’t worth adding back.
I did not add coverage of the Florida social media censorship law or NetChoice v. Moody because the law is enjoined and the 11th Circuit opinion will supersede the district court opinion.
Over the years, I’ve posted a number of book excerpts that are accessible for free, including:
- The entire chapter on online contracts. It makes a nice module to add an online contracts piece to another course.
- Primer on CCPA/CPRA
- Primer on FOSTA
- Primer on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)
- Primer on Section 230
- Excerpt on right to be forgotten
- Excerpt on CFAA/Nosal/Power Ventures (now gone due to Van Buren)
- Excerpt on transborder enforcement
- Excerpt on Brazil’s Marco Civil
- Excerpt on notes about UMG v. Shelter Capital
(Some of the freely available excerpts are dated, but I keep the materials updated in the book).
As always, I invite your comments and questions.
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Table of Contents:
I. What is the Internet? Who Regulates It?
Overview Page
Noah v. AOL (E.D. Va.)
Determining the Geography of Internet-Connected Devices
II. Jurisdiction
Evaluating Personal Jurisdiction
Toys ‘R’ Us v. Step Two (3d Cir.)
Illinois v. Hemi Group (7th Cir.)
III. Contracts
Meyer v. Uber (2d Cir.)
Register.com v. Verio (2d Cir.)
Harris v. Blockbuster
IV. Trespass/Computer Fraud & Abuse Act
Review: the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. §1030 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030], and California Penal Code §502 [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=502.&lawCode=PEN]
Comparison of Trespass to Chattels Doctrines
Intel v. Hamidi (Cal. Sup. Ct.)
Register.com v. Verio (Trespass to Chattels section)
Online Trespass to Chattels: a Failed Experiment
V. Copyright
Copyright Basics (Copyright Office Circular 1)
Note About Fair Use
Note on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)
Cartoon Network v. CSC (2d Cir.)
MGM Studios v. Grokster (Sup. Ct.)
Secondary Liability
Review: 17 U.S.C. §512 [http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512]
Section 512(c) Cheat Sheet
UMG v. Shelter Capital (9th Cir. revised opinion)
Recap
Ticketmaster v. RMG
VI. Trademarks and Domain Names
Review: 15 U.S.C. §1114 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1114], 15 U.S.C. §1125 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125], and 15 U.S.C. §8131 [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/8131]
Trademark FAQs
Trademark Glossary
A. Domain Names and Metatags
Review: ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy [https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/policy-2012-02-25-en] and Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy [https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/udrp-rules-2015-03-11-en]
Lamparello v. Falwell (4th Cir.)
Promatek v. Equitrac (7th Cir.) Original Order and Revision
B. Search Engines
Review: Google’s Trademark Policy [https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6118]
Network Automation v. Advanced Systems Concepts (9th Cir.)
Tiffany v. eBay (2d Cir.)
VII. Pornography
Pornography Glossary
Reno v. ACLU (Sup. Ct. 1997)
Ashcroft v. ACLU (Sup. Ct. 2004)
VIII. Defamation and Information Torts
Bauer v. Brinkman (Iowa Sup. Ct.)
47 U.S.C. §230
An Introduction to Section 230
A Note About FOSTA
Zeran v. America Online (4th Cir.)
Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com (9th Cir. en banc)
Top Myths of Content Moderation
International Approaches to Liability for Information Torts
IX. Privacy
Review: 16 C.F.R. Part 312 [http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-17/pdf/2012-31341.pdf (starting at page 38)]
Excerpts from 16 C.F.R. Part 312, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’s Regulations
Note About the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
An Introduction to California’s Consumer Privacy Laws (CCPA & CPRA)
In re. Pharmatrak (1st Cir.)
X. Spam
Review: CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 [http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-108publ187/pdf/PLAW-108publ187.pdf] and 16 C.F.R. Part 316 [http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=16:1.0.1.3.40&idno=16]
Where’s the Beef? Dissecting Spam’s Purported Harms
XI. Blogs and Social Networking Sites
The Third Wave of Internet Exceptionalism
People v. Lopez (Cal. App. Ct.)
Doe v. MySpace (5th Cir.)
Zimmerman v. Weis Markets
Farley v. Callais & Sons
In re Rolando S. (Cal. App. Ct.)
Moreno v. Hanford Sentinel (Cal. App. Ct.)
REVIEW QUESTION ANSWERS