GigaLaw Guide to Internet Law

Rating:
Summary: Best Internet Law Book Available
Review: Pros: Easy to read, comprehensive, good for law students, lawyers, and lay people alike! Read it, and you'll have complete understanding of current and past internet law.

Cons: the gigalaw.com website is more up to date.

As a law student, I took an internet course. Gigalaw Guide to Internet Law was, by far, my best resource. It wasn't an official text for the class, but I found it far more useful than the books we had to read. It supplied great examples to illustrate applicable law. I used it to study for exams, and it gave me complete coverage of all course topics.

Also, it really doesn't read like legalese. You could keep it on your coffee table for light reading.

If you are a business person who has to understand internet law, I highly recommend you read this book -- you'll learn all the same things that I learned in law school and will one day charge hundredss of dollars an hour to explain to you :) If you are a law student, this will serve as a great study guide.

Rating:
Summary: Mike Petrik
Review: Terrific book for folks with an interest, intellectual or practical, in how the law intersects with the Internet. Isenberg's explanations are readable and accessible. First rate.

Rating:
Summary: Mike Petrik
Review: Terrific book for folks with an interest, intellectual or practical, in how the law intersects with the Internet. Isenberg's explanations are readable and accessible. First rate.

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Summary: Cyberlaw Roadmap
Review: This book is a great introduction to the emerging issues of Internet-related law. Everything from copyright law, domain names and trademarks, patents, privacy, free speech, contracts, and employment law are covered in this latin- and lingo-free guide to Net law. Developers will be especially interested in the sections on copyright, domain names and trademarks, and contracts.

For example, hiring a design firm without a contract may mean that they own the copyright to your web site. The proper copyright notice must include the original year the work was published, not just the current one.

Relevant laws are cited and explained, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and the "E-Signature" Act.

The book starts well, citing copyright (Playboy v. Sanfilippo) and cybersquatting (Electronics Boutique v. Zuccarini) case studies. I found myself chuckling at the audacity of the defendants in their brazen copying of Playboy's images and squatting trademarked domains.

The author and six expert contributors (many of which are on GigaLaw's Editorial Board) do a fine job highlighting major case law and issues that face developers (and lawyers) on the Internet today. While no substitute for hiring a lawyer, this book shows what to avoid, and what to do to protect yourself...