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H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F
P E N N S Y L V A N I A L A W S C
H O O L
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L E C T R O N I C C O M M E R C
E : V E R S I O N 2.0
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Congratulations to the Fall 2001 class for an excellent semester.
eCommerce will return next year.
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Technology for the Digital Lawyer I:
The Importance of History
[ Tuesday, September 4,
2001]
While everyone is generally aware of WHAT the Internet
is, relatively few people spend much time learning about how the Internet
works, and why. Yet the legal environment for electronic commerce
is very much shaped by the technologies that underlie the net. Accordingly,
while eCommerce lawyers are unlikely to be considered expert technolgists,
the influence of the technology (and the fondness of those in the
field to talk about it) require at least a working knowledge of Internet
technologies.
R E A D I N G S
Of Myths and Missions: A Technological
History of the 'Net
The common fable of the Internet holds that the "packet-switching"
that is the foundation of the 'net's technology was envisioned as
a method of connecting widely distributed defense-related computer
installations via links that could easily and quickly be rerouted
or changed in the event of nuclear war. The reality, however, is somewhat
different. As you read the following historical accounts of the "founding"
of the Internet, consider why the 'net was created. What were the
long-term goals? Did the founders envision anything like the Internet
of today?
Barry
M. Leiner et. al, A Brief History of the Internet (2000)
Stewart
Brand, Founding Father, Wired, March 2001.
World
Wide Web Consortium (WC3), A Little History of the World Wide Web
(2000).
[ timeline - review for important dates ]
The Implications of History
Many of the most important decisions (in terms of
features that have legal or business implications) were made right
at the outset. What were they? Why are they important? Can you think
of the legal-political-commercial implications of these historical
design choices?
Sharon
E. Gillett & Mitchell Kapor, The Self-Governing Internet: Coordination
by Design (1997).
Atlas
of Cyberspace: Historical Maps of Computer Networks (2001).
[ various historical maps of the Internet ]
N O T E S & Q U E S T
I O N S
1. Foundational Concepts. What would
you describe as the most important feature of the Internet?
In doing so, note this set of basic concepts that was "built
in" to the Internet:
- Each network (i.e., set of computers) linked
to the net would be independently managed and configured -- as long
as it communicated properly with the net, it was allowed on the
net.
- Communications would be on a best effort
basis. If a packet didn't make it to the final destination, it would
shortly be retransmitted from the source.
- Black boxes would be used to connect the
networks; these would later be called "gateways and routers".
There would be no information retained by the gateways about the
individual flows of packets passing through them, thereby keeping
them simple and avoiding complicated adaptation and recovery from
various failure modes.
- There would be no global control at the operations
level.
Why are each of these choices important for
electronic commerce? Do they have legal implications? Commercial implications?
Can they now be changed?
2. Who Owns the Internet? As we will
see later in the course, the concept of "property" on the
Internet (and thus in eCommerce) is more difficult than it might seem.
At least part of the problem might be viewed as confusion over the
origins of the 'net. Looking from this perspective, consider if there
is any person or institution that might be said to have "built"
the Internet Is it fair to say that such efforts result in some form
of property rights? Over time, the character of the effort to develop
the 'net changed -- most obviously from an academic project to commercialization.
How did this change impact the way people viewed "property"
on the 'net? What about "control" -- does control follow
ownership online?
3. Commercialization. How did the Internet
shift from a primarily academic research project to the commercial
medium of today? Was this a planned shift, or did it just happen?
4. Reflection. Considering what we know
now about the disputes regarding the Internet and eCommerce, do you
think the founders might have done anything differently? What? Why
do you think it is important to understand how the Internet came to
be?
[ notes
]
[ pageprints
]
C
O P Y R I G H T © 2001 R. P O L K W
A G N E R.