One of the most important topics for today's information technology professional is the study of legal and regulatory issues as they relate to privacy and security of personal and business data and identification. This manuscript describes the topics and approach taken by the instructors that focuses on independent research of source documents and…

Discusses the World Intellectual Property Organization's proposed Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Databases and suggests that because it disagrees with United States copyright law and the First Amendment, it should be rejected. Topics include public interests and individual property rights; journalists' reporting; and the fair use…

The legal action brought by author J. D. Salinger against Random House Publishers to prevent certain letters--now the property of various university libraries--from being published in a biography illustrates how the long-standing accommodation between the Copyright Act and the First Amendment can occasionally break down. Although the biographer…

Examines First Amendment, privacy, and intellectual property issues of communication on the Internet. Discusses developments in communications policy related to the proposed communication superhighway. Suggests ways in which communication scholars can secure fundamental legal protections necessary for full, free, and effective communication in the…

Implications of the 1985 Supreme Court ruling in Harper & Row v Nation Enterprises, dealing with copyright protection in unpublished material include: ownership of copyrighted works prepared by faculty or students, infringement through performance or classroom use of copyrighted works, and application of fair use to classroom and scholarly…

Argues that First Amendment rights are not possible without the grant of public access to information provided by the doctrine of fair use. Notes that, with digitalization and electronic transfer, many corporate intellectual-property lawyers are pressuring for tightening public access. Argues that educators must understand that the existence of…

Discusses computer ethics and the use of computer networks. Topics addressed include computer hackers; software piracy; computer viruses and worms; intentional and unintentional abuse; intellectual property rights versus freedom of thought; the role of information in a democratic society; individual privacy; legislation; social attitudes; and the…