Authors


Tang, Guan H (Scotland, China): Copyright, Censorship and Piracy: Is the Cyberspace Over Crowded?

Tladi, Sebo (South Africa): A South African Perspective on e-Consumer Protection

Vollans, Tim (UK): Global Technology and Modern Commercial Agency of Necessity

Wan, Yun (USA) and Qi Zhu (USA): The Impact of legal challenges on the evolution of shopbots and metabots

Weber, Rolf (Switzerland): The Enhancement of Transparency in Internet Governance

Wilson, Nigel (Australia): The Workplace of the Future – Liability Issues and Risk Management

Wong Rebecca (UK); Garrie, Daniel (USA) and Loewenherz, Daniel (USA): Revisiting Network Neutrality

Yap, Ji Lian (Singapore, Hongkong): The Regulation of Data Privacy in Hong Kong

Copyright, Censorship and Piracy: Is the Cyberspace Over Crowded? by Guan H. Tang, University of Edinburgh













After 8-year working in the Chinese public sector, Guan H. Tang was awarded a governmental scholarship in 1998 to undertake her Masters at Queen’s University Belfast, where she researched information technology (IT) and the law with focus on the development of Chinese Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

In 2002, she resigned from Section Chief and came to the University of Edinburgh (UoE) to read law with Prof Hector MacQueen. She has been ever since actively involving in research, as well as joined projects between the UK and China. Moreover, she worked part-time with the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law in 2002-2007, chaired and organised an international conference in “Copyright, Education and Society”.

She specialised in comparative IP law with particular interest in Chinese developments and the influence of IT and culture. She has presented and published a number of papers on topics of IPR, copyright and the public interest. Currently, she is completing her PhD thesis, and teaching Chinese IP Law and the Master of Chinese Studies at UoE. She is a member of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Cyber-law Studies.
Abstract
Cyberspace raises new questions about the effectiveness of traditional law.. International legislators and legal pundits are drafting and enacting various laws to keep up with the rapid development of technology. Among the core issues problematized by Internet technology concern copyright , censorship and piracy. This article will examine the related issues and laws, mainly in the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom, on a comparative basis and will demonstrate the developments, the differences and the prospects with the intention of perfecting the Chinese law in aspects of copyright, censorship and piracy.

A South African Perspective on e-Consumer Protection by Sebo Tladi, University of South Africa.


Sebo Tladi holds a BIuris degree from Vista University. She also holds LLB and LLM degrees both from the University of Pretoria. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Mercantile Law Department at the University of South Africa. She teaches Company Law and Legal Aspects of e-Commerce. She is also involved in the teaching of Legal Aspects of e-Commerce in the WIPO-UNISA Intellectual Property Development Programme. She is an active researcher in the fields of Electronic Commerce and Consumer Law. Sebo Tladi is also registered for her LLD thesis titled “The Protection of e-Consumers: A re-evaluation of the South African position based on International Trends”.
Abstract
Consumers in an online environment are faced with different kinds of problems. Unlike the consumer in the traditional way of doing business, the online consumer cannot touch, taste, or feel whatever they want to buy online. The frightening thing is that they don’t even know with whom they are transacting as this environment is of an impersonal nature. Although there are benefits/advantages to this environment, namely, that the consumer has shopping access 24/7 without leaving their comfort of their home or office, the downside to this is that while they are busy shopping or searching for their favourite things someone is busy compiling a profile about their likes and dislikes in an online environment. Sensitive information about those consumers is also being gathered either to be sold to third parties dealing with the buying and selling of private information of consumers. In South Africa the issue of e-consumer protection is dealt with under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002 (ECT Act), and recently the Consumer Protection Bill of 2006, which gives rise to the rights that the consumers’ are entitled to. In this paper, I will look at the protection of the consumers in an online environment. I will also look into the challenges that are facing consumers in an online environment and whether the protective measures that are in place are effective in protecting the online consumer while transacting online. Focus will be on the two legislative instruments mentioned above.

Global Technology and Modern Commercial Agency of Necessity by Tim Vollans, Coventry University.










Tim Vollans is Principal Lecturer at Coventry Law School, Coventry University, England. He obtained his qualifying LLB law degree (with Honors) from Leeds University (UK), and subsequently qualified and practised as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, specializing in high value commercial and fiscal transactions. Retirement from practice enabled him to join Coventry University as a Senior Lecturer and to pursue his research interests at Birmingham University (UK) where he was awarded a LLM (by Research).

Tim is a Register Practitioner in Higher Education (UK) and currently leads Coventry Law School’s new LLM in International Business Law and teaches on professionally accredited law and accountancy degrees. In addition, he undertakes advisory, moderation, and examining activities with a number of major organizations. Over the last 25 years he has published extensively in the professional and academic press.
Abstract
In Anglo-Saxon common law, the courts have allowed agency of necessity to develop to meet the prevailing commercial needs, but also restricted its development through the imposition of demanding criteria. After summarising and distinguishing the basic principles applicable to the ‘full’ doctrine of agency of necessity and the ‘more limited’ sub-doctrine relating to reimbursement of agent’s expense, this paper locates and analyses the current application of the doctrine’s criteria in the age of ubiquitous mobile phones, synchronous internet communications, email, and immediate money transfers. It concludes by suggesting that the development of the doctrine is inhibited less by improved communication systems and more by the strict and narrow test applied to identify the required ‘necessity’.

The Impact of legal challenges on the evolution of shopbots and metabots by Yun Wan and Samsung Lim and Qi Zhu. University of Houston-Victoria.


Yun Wan (PhD, Management Information Systems, University of Illinois at Chicago; Bachelor of Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China; BSc, Economic Management, University of Science and Technology of China) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston-Victoria. He is also the MSCIS Graduate Program Advisor at the University of Houston–Victoria. He was a Fellow, Doctoral Consortium, International Conference on Information Systems, 2003 and was granted a Provost Award for Graduate Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004
Abstract
On the backdrop of Coase theorem, this paper analyzed four major lawsuits in the nascent stage of electronic commerce from 1994 to 2002. These lawsuits were all between Web-based agents, comparison-shopping agents or shopbots, and MetaBots. They have significant impact on this emerging electronic commerce sector. The focus of this paper is exploring how these lawsuits influenced the evolution of the shopbots and MetaBots. We demonstrated that legal challenges could greatly influence the evolution path of comparison-shopping technologies and their business models. In this case, the favorable legal environment for shopbots makes this category prosperous and fully developed while the unfavorable legal environment on the MetaBots makes it less developed.

The Enhancement of Transparency in Internet Governance by Dr. Rolf Weber, University of Zürich.
Dr. Rolf Weber, Professor of Private, Business and European Law, is the Director of the European Law Institute and of the Centre for Information and Communication Law, Faculty of Law, University of Zürich. He is also a judge in Swiss and International Arbitral tribunals in commercial matters. Dr.Weber obtained his Dr.Iur degree from the University of Zürich. He was visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, visiting professor at the University of Hongkong and a partner in a law firm.
Abstract
In Internet governance transparency issues merit more extensive consideration: The Internet offers valuable opportunities for transparent communication and for the achievement of open access to discussion topics, thereby enhancing communication and dialogue between the governance-related institutions and the interested parties concerned. Transparency could also promote the mobilisation of new actors and the participation of the civil society; such development would increase the level of democratic legitimization through active involvement. ICANN has recognized the need to improve the transparency framework with its structures; the ongoing attempts should be strengthened by scholar research supporting the effort of the ICANN bodies in the present consultation phase. Since a transparent methodology for rule-making processes based on revisable procedures reduces mistrust, transparency should become a persistent objective of governance mechanisms.

The Workplace of the Future - Liability Issues and Risk Management by Nigel Wilson, Barrister, Bar Chambers South Australia.









Nigel Wilson (Barrister, Bar Chambers). Since 1995 Nigel has practised as a Barrister at Bar Chambers, Adelaide, South Australia in all areas of commercial and civil litigation. His particular areas of expertise are trade practices and competition law, insurance law, contractual and property disputes, corporations and securities law, professional and product liability law and intellectual property law. He has a particular interest in insurance law, the law of torts and information technology.

He holds degrees in Law (Honours-First Class) (1991) and Economics (1989) from the University of Adelaide and a Masters degree, the Bachelor of Civil Law degree, from the University of Oxford (1993).

Prior to joining the Independent Bar he practised as a Barrister and Solicitor at Minter Ellison Baker O’Loughlin (now Minter Ellison), a large commercial law firm in Adelaide, and was a part-time Tutor in the Law of Evidence and Tutor and Examiner in the Law of Torts at the University of Adelaide.
Abstract
The nature and impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) involve major challenges for the management of liability issues in the workplace of the future. Risk management of these liability issues also needs to take account of other emerging trends in the workplace. The benefit of general regulatory regimes has been that they can be readily applied to novel situations to protect consumers and the community. When the public interest has required it, specific legislation has the capacity directly to address unsuitable business practices involving the use of ICTs and to provide appropriate consumer protection. Consistent with international objectives, a central element of the regulation of the future workplace environment will be the protection of individual human rights, particularly the right to privacy. The application of human rights concepts at a domestic level raises particular challenges in relation to the regulation of ICTs. Effective risk management in the future will require a consideration of data protection and document retention issues and the implementation of suitable training, compliance programs and protocols.

Revisiting Network Neutrality by Rebecca Wong, Nottingham Trent University; Daniel Garrie, CRA and Daniel W. Loewenherz, Yale University.









Dr. Rebecca Wong (PhD on Data Protection Law in the Online Age , University of Sheffield) is A Senior Lecturer at the Nottingham Trent University. She assisted with a European Commission project, PRIVIREAL in connection with data protection and the implications on research ethics committees. She taught contract law, ICT and Law, English legal systems at the University of Sheffield prior to her appointment at Nottingham Trent University (2006). Her interests include data protection, electronic commerce and intellectual property. Her recent publications include “Privacy: charting its developments and prospects” in Human Rights in the Digital Age edited by Klang and Murray (2005) and “Data Protection: alternative approaches to sensitive data” (2007) Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology. She is Guest Editor of a special issue on Identity, privacy and new technologies in the International Journal of Intellectual Property Management.

















Mr. Garrie holds a MA and BA in Computer Science from Brandeis University and a JD from Rutgers School of Law. Mr. Garrie specializes in legal technology risk management. He consults primarily to in-house counsel and IT departments on information management strategies in the United States and internationally, e-policy guidance synchronization (policies and operatins), e-discovery litigation risk management and legal technology strategies, integration, and best practices. Prior to joining CRA, Mr. Garrie was a vice president of LegalTech Group where he provided subject matter expertise and project management in engagements pertaining to e-Discovery, vendor selection, litigation readiness, digital privacy, and digital information risk management. Mr. Garrie is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey, and currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Legal Technology Risk Management. He has published more than 30 articles in scholarly and industry legal journals worldwide, and his writings are widely cited in legal and technology publications. Mr. Garrie is considered one of the industry’s thought leaders on topics that include consumer Web data both in the United States and abroad, digital privacy, e-discovery, VoIP, e-Discovery, SOX, digital sexual harassment, and spyware. He is frequently sought after presenter at legal and technology seminars and conferences worldwide. He can be reached via e-mail at daniel.garrie@gmail.com and archiving.
Daniel W. Loewenherz is currently a junior at Yale University, pursuing a B.A. degree in Economics and Mathematics. Following graduation from Yale in Fall 2008, he plans to matriculate into law school and pursue interests in international law. His academic interests include financial modeling, programming, and stochastic processes as applied to human behavior. He is a regular programming competitor on TopCoder.com and secured a third-place finish at the 2005 ACSL International Programming Tournament. He is currently researching the state of agricultural insurance and financial derivatives in the People’s Republic of China.
Abstract
The paper discusses the topical subject of network neutrality, from a US and European legal perspective. The article will begin by first defining network neutrality before addressing the underpinning technology and will then compare the legal approaches adopted by Europe and the U.S. In Europe, there is an existing electronic communications regulatory framework which can be used to address the network neutrality problem which renders any further legislation unnecessary and perhaps detrimental to the current framework. In the US, however, the main concern arising is a potential for a “fragmented” Internet, which leads us to conclude that network neutrality legislation is necessary on multiple levels. The article will conclude that the US stance on network neutrality legislation will cause a seismic shift in the way we view technology and the way that networks are accessed and utilised.

The Regulation of Data Privacy in Hong Kong by Ji Lian Yap, City University of Hong Kong.
Ji Lian Yap is a Teaching Fellow at the School of Law in City University of Hong Kong. She obtained her LLM from Cambridge University in 2002 (with specialization in Commercial Law) and her LLB from the National University of Singapore (Deans' List) in 1998. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of Commercial Law and Data Protection.
Abstract
This paper seeks to provide a critical analysis of the regulation of data protection in Hong Kong, and then to suggest several recommendations in that regard. In particular, three aspects of regulation will be considered, namely, enforced compliance, public consultation and public education. In the light of the recent resurgence of interest in Confucianism in China, the article also briefly explores how Confucian values contribute to this regulatory discussion. The article concludes that while there have been commendable efforts in the area of public consultation and education, the time has come for a greater degree of regulatory compulsion in the form of various suggested reforms with regard to criminal sanctions and civil remedies, in order for Hong Kong to develop a robust data protection regime. This is particularly important in our digital age, where data protection is critical for the maintenance of trust in e-commerce and online transactions