Final Protective Fire

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

 

As mentioned below, among the things I'm interested in are topics such as how the Internet is dealt with by intellectual property law and other civil law. An issue with immense implications on the Internet that is off most people's radar screen is an area of law called personal jurisdiction. This area of law is the question of whether or not a court in one state has the power to hear a case against a defendant that may not be a resident of the court's jurisdiction. Here is a very interesting article by Denise M. Howell that discusses a current case being heard in the California Supreme Court on this issue. If the California Supreme Court adopts an expansive view of jurisdiction, and if they don't get overturned at the U.S. Supreme Court level, it would mean an immense problem for people with websites who would then be unintentionally creating the possibility of being hauled into a state where they do not live to face lawsuits. Watch this one as it is very important.

Robin 8:24 PM