In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, then the American Minister to France, had the "complete skeleton, skin &amp; horns" of an American moose shipped to him in Paris and mounted in the lobby of his residence as a symbol of the vast possibilities contained in the strange and largely unexplored New World. Taking a cue from Jefferson's efforts, David Post, one of the nation's leading Internet scholars, here presents a pithy, colorful exploration of the still mostly undiscovered territory of cyberspace--what it is, how it works, and how it should be governed. What law should the Internet have, and who should make it? What are we to do, and how are we to think, about online filesharing and copyright law, about Internet pornography and free speech, about controlling spam, and online gambling, and cyberterrorism, and the use of anonymous remailers, or the practice of telemedicine, or the online collection and dissemination of personal information? How can they be controlled? Should they be controlled? And by whom? Post presents the Jeffersonian ideal--small self-governing units, loosely linked together as peers in groups of larger and larger size--as a model for the Internet and for cyberspace community self-governance. Deftly drawing on Jefferson's writings on the New World in Notes on the State of Virginia, Post draws out the many similarities (and differences) between the two terrains, vividly describing how the Internet actually functions from a technological, legal, and social perspective as he uniquely applies Jefferson's views on natural history, law, and governance in the New World to illuminate the complexities of cyberspace. In Search of Jefferson's Moose is a lively, accessible, and remarkably original overview of the Internet and what it holds for the future.

In Search of Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the State of Cyberspace

Computers & Technology

David G. Post

Networking & Cloud Computing

Oxford University Press

This innovative casebookwhich has proved extremely popular with students and professors alikestarts from the premise that cyberlaw is not simply a set of legal rules governing online interaction, but a lens through which broader jurisprudential issues can be re-examined. Accordingly, this book goes beyond plugging Internet-related cases into a series of pre-existing doctrinal categoriesFirst Amendment, copyright, trademark, etc.and instead emphasizes the conceptual debates that cut across the areas of doctrine touched by cyberspace. Moreover, the casebook uses the rise of the Internet to encourage readers to reconsider various assumptions in traditional legal doctrine. This dual focus provides readers with broad-based and sophisticated training in Internet-related legal issues while also making the argument that cyberlaw is a coherent and useful field of study. Thus, instead of compiling a list of topic areas, the book seeks to define a set of conceptual issues that extend across the spectrum of Internet legal dilemmas. While all of the traditional subject matter areas of cyberlaw are addressed, they are placed in a new framework one that asks both students and professors to consider what it is that cyberlaw has to teach us about law more generally. The new edition retains the qualities that have made the book so successful in law schools across the country. It is compact, serves a variety of course formats, builds new cases on top of a foundation of non internet legal doctrine, and fosters lively and provocative class discussions. The third edition will, of course, provide updated case and statutory coverage, but in addition, the casebook has undergone a major revision to provide even greater conceptual clarity and respond to user feedback Treatment of subjects has been adjusted throughout to reflect new thinking in the field, each chapter now includes greater framing to highlight the issues to be explored, materials have been reordered to make more intuitive conne

Cyberlaw: Problems of Policy and Jurisprudence in the Information Age, (American Casebook Series®)

Patricia L. Bella

Paul Schiff Berman

Legal Theory & Systems

West Group

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Books by David G. Post