Draft:CyberLaw

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Last edited by Jon Rosenoer (talk | contribs) 5 hours ago. (Update)

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Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Jon Rosenoer (talk) 16:23, 29 June 2025 (UTC)

Jonathan Rosenoer, a lawyer in the Silicon Valley, coined the term “Cyberlaw” in the early 1990s. It was inspired by William Gibson’s novel Burning Chrome, which first introduced the word “cyberspace.” Jonathan's CyberLaw newsletter for computer user groups was initially called The Legal Side, beginning 1990, and then renamed CyberLaw in early 1992. These newsletters were published by the Stanford Macintosh User Group (SMUG); Macvalley User Group; Boston Computer Society Macintosh User Group (BMUG). CyberLaw was first published online by America Online, where it was the most read area at the time of launch. Jonathan went on to write the first book on Internet Law, CYBERLAW: THE LAW OF THE INTERNET (Springer Verlag 1996). See, D. Colby & D. Trager, USING COMMUNICATION THEORY TO UNDERSTAND CYBERLAW AND ITS DISCONTENTS, JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY, Vol. 2005, p.181, fn.2, https://illinoisjltp.com/file/110/colby.pdf; J. Rosenoer, CyberLaw, 25 years later: Innovation, transformation, and an emerging backlash, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, October 4, 2017, https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/cyberlaw-25-years-later-innovation-transformation-and-an-emerging-backlash.

The neologism "cyberlaw" began to appear in law review articles shortly in 1993. See, I. Trotter Hardy, Electronic Conferences: The Report of an Experiment, 6 HARV. J.L. & TECH. 213, 232 (1993), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1538&context=facpubs.

CyberLaw & Legal Side Articles (links to articles at cyberlaw.com):

"Coded Speech," CyberLaw, March 1996
"Famous Trademarks," CyberLaw, February 1996
"Losing Data," CyberLaw, January 1996
"Indecent Communication," CyberLaw, December 1995
"Notice of Infringement," CyberLaw, November 1995
"Cryptography & Speech," CyberLaw, October 1995
"Government Recommendations," CyberLaw, September 1995
"The Privacy Directive," CyberLaw, August 1995
"True Threats," CyberLaw, July 1995
"Restraining Access," CyberLaw, June 1995
"Online Defamation," CyberLaw, May 1995
"Internet Infringement," CyberLaw, April 1995
"Methods of Operation," CyberLaw, March 1995
"Withholding Consent," CyberLaw, February 1995
"Photocopying Unlawful," CyberLaw, December 1994
"The Dummy Seizure," CyberLaw, November 1994
"Libel & Suppression," CyberLaw, October 1994
"Apple Loses," CyberLaw, September 1994
"Software Patents," CyberLaw, August 1994
"Information & Infrastructure," CyberLaw, July 1994
"Borland's Appeal," CyberLaw, June 1994
"Multimedia," CyberLaw, May 1994
"Pirates," CyberLaw, April 1994
"Programming Freedom," CyberLaw, March 1994
"Intimidating Educators," CyberLaw, February 1994
"Electronic Commerce," CyberLaw, January 1994
"Software Protection," CyberLaw, December 1993
"The End of Fair Use," CyberLaw, November 1993
"Free Speech & Toasters," CyberLaw, October 1993
"Protecting Privacy," CyberLaw, September 1993
"Spreadsheet Wars," CyberLaw, August 1993
"Social Responsibility," CyberLaw, July 1993
"Encryption," CyberLaw, June 1993
"Repair Deemed Unlawful," CyberLaw, May 1993
"Search & Seizure," CyberLaw, April 1993
"EFF: Public Advocacy & Cyberspace," CyberLaw, March 1993
"E-Mail & Privacy," CyberLaw, February 1993
"Works For Hire," CyberLaw, January 1993
"Privacy [U.S. v. Smith]," CyberLaw, December 1992
"Reverse Engineering [Sega v. Accolade]," CyberLaw, November 1992
"Apple v. Microsoft," CyberLaw, October 1992
"Reverse Engineering [Atari v. Nintendo]," CyberLaw, September 1992
"Interoperable Systems," CyberLaw, August 1992
"Computer Associates," CyberLaw, July 1992
"Lewis Galoob Toys v. Nintendo," CyberLaw, June 1992
"Digital Telephony," CyberLaw, May 1992
"Sega v. Accolade," CyberLaw, April 1992
"Employee Stock Option Plans," The Legal Side, March 1992
"Wrongful Disclosure of Trade Secrets," The Legal Side, January 1992
"Lotus v. Borland," The Legal Side, December 1991
"Borland's Friends," The Legal Side, November 1991
"Apple v. Microsoft," The Legal Side, September 1991
"The Internet Worm," The Legal Side, August 1991
"dBASE Copyrights Invalid," The Legal Side, June 1991
"Revlon v. Logisticon," The Legal Side, December 1990
"Epson & E-Mail," The Legal Side, November 1990
"Lotus v. Paperback," The Legal Side, October 1990

References