LIS 525 - Legal Issues
In addition to infringement of copyright
or trademarks,
an Internet information service might also incur liability for posting
of information banned by criminal law
(such as hate propaganda, child pornography, or criminal
libel)
or of information which aids in the commission of crimes
(such as how to be a hitman or make bombs).
Defamation is another area to look out for.
An ISP or Web hosting service
may be legally required to monitor and record transactions
or to hand over copies of private information
in order to assist authorities in the investigation of crimes.
For More Information
- Canada Department of Justice. 2007.
Electronic Commerce.
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/ec/.
(Links to recent legislation and discussion
at both the federal and the provincial levels.)
- Council of Europe. 2007.
.
http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=185&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG
("Convention on Cybercrime",
CETS No.: 185A, a proposed treaty
likely to form the basis for much national legislation
regarding Internet crime;
currently signed, but not ratified,
by most European countries, plus
Canada, Japan, South Africa, and the United States.)
- Cyberspace Law Institute. 2001.
Cyberspace Law Institute.
http://www.cli.org/default.html
(Links to some papers and course materials on legal issues
in cyberspace.)
- Downs, L. 2007.
Cybercrime Treaty: What it Means to You.
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,2100916,00.asp.
(Notes the "authority given to participating countries to seize information from private parties...even when the activity being investigated isn't a crime in the country
where the data is located".)
- Geist, M. 2007.
Michael Geist - Blog.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/.
(Canadian Internet and e-commerce law professor's blog
and links to articles.)
- Isenberg, E.M. 2006.
GigaLaw.com Daily News.
Dolesco.
http://www.gigalaw.com/.
(Articles and news, mostly U.S.,
but some international.)
- McCullagh, D.; Hansen, E. 2002.
"Libel without frontiers shakes the Net".
CNET News.com.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-976988.html.
(Australian court decides to approve a libel case
against a U.S. Web site.)
- Tysver, D.A. 2007.
BitLaw: A Resource on Technology Law.
http://www.bitlaw.com/index.html.
("...a comprehensive Internet resource
on technology law",
by a U.S. lawyer,
including sections on Internet law and copyright.)
Home
Last updated October 18, 2007.
This page maintained by
Prof. Tim Craven
E-mail (text/plain only): craven@uwo.ca
Faculty of Information and
Media Studies
University of Western
Ontario,
London, Ontario
Canada, N6A 5B7