Customer Reviews

GigaLaw Guide to Internet Law

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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...

I just received a copy of this book & had I known that the original price was just $17.95, I would not have paid so much money. Not only is this book overpriced, it is dated. Although there is some good information in this book, alot has happened since 2002 & there are better resources out there that are more current & don't cost a small fortune.
Buy the e-copy, or get something more current with just as much information like 'Issues in Internet Law'($17.71)

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.

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.

Have you ever felt guilty about stealing pictures from some site on the Internet and either using them on your own site without giving the person credit, or using them for some project for school? Perhaps you've questioned yourself over whether it is okay to do what you're doing. Here's a book that will finally answer all of your Internet questions: The GigaLaw.

With an extremely extensive contents list split into sections such as: Copyright Law, Domain Names and Trademarks, Patent Law, and Privacy to name a few, there are then specific chapter headings that will get you to the page you want and the specific answers you need in no time. Together with a full index and lists for websites pertaining to each chapter, this is a book that pretty much anyone can't do without.

In a small paperback form, The GigaLaw is a book that will get used every day no matter what you're doing online, because you'll always be asking yourself whether you what you're doing violates the rights of a certain site, or whether you are perfectly without your own rights to be doing what you doing. The answers are all here.

Originally published on December 9th, 2002.

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I ordered this book two weeks before x-mas and got it New Years Eve day.

This is a great book-- it does an excellent job of explaining the concepts underlying the law and teaches you to THINK in legal terms. In that sense it is timeless...The author does a great job of explaining concepts and avoiding mumbo-jumbo.

In a digital world of sequential processing, the Guide panders to our human parellel processing capabilities. Pattern is social impact, law involved and case study ... not necessarily in that order. Information is up-to-date. Purchased both the book and the digital copy. Love the book; have rarely used the digital except for keyword lookup. What truly makes the book worth five stars besides competence, is the choice of topics. So if you are into digital dirt such as software copyright violations, cybersquatting and digital trademark infringement ... this is a must-have book for you.