Reuben Grinberg, a recent Yale Law School graduate now in private practice in New York City, discusses his paper, published in the Hastings Science & Technology Law Journal entitled, Bitcoin: An Innovative Alternative Digital Currency. Grinberg first gives a brief overview of Bitcoin, the decentralized, digital currency. According to Grinberg, Bitcoin can maintain sustainability, even though it is not backed by an institution or commodity, but it must overcome several hurdles. Grinberg then discusses the potential security problems and legal issues Bitcoin faces. He also describes some of the unique qualities of Bitcoin, including the ability to conduct transactions anonymously. Grinberg ends the discussion with his thoughts on what Bitcoin could potentially become.

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Related Links

• Bitcoin: An Innovative Alternative Digital Currency, by Grinberg
• Bitcoin: Today Techies, Tomorrow the World?, by Grinberg
• “Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks”, Time Techland
• bitcoin.org
• The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin, Wired

Michael Weinberg, staff attorney with Public Knowledge, discusses his white paper entitled, It Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw This Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual Property, and the Fight Over the Next Great Disruptive Technology. The discussion begins with Weinberg describing 3D printing: the process of printing three dimensional objects layer-by-layer from a digital file on a computer. According to Weinberg the design method used for printing includes programs like AutoCad and 3D scanners that can scan existing objects, making it possible to print a 3D replica. He goes on to explain why he thinks 3D printing, coupled with the Internet, is a disruptive technology. Finally, Weinberg discusses the thesis of his paper, where he anticipates industries affected by potential disruption will not compete with or adapt to this technology, but rather, will seek legal protection through IP law to preemptively regulate 3D printing.

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Related Links

• It Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw This Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual Property, and the Fight Over the Next Great Disruptive Technology, By Weinberg
• “Difference Engine: Making it”, The Economist
• Thingverse.com
• Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney, TED

David Robinson, a fellow at the Information and Society Project at Yale Law School, discusses his new paper, Following the Money: A Better Way Forward on the PROTECT IP Act. The bill, now being considered by Congress, targets “rouge” websites. Robinson discusses the different ways these websites host infringing content and sell counterfeit goods, as well as the remedies proposed in the bill. The measures involve two main consequences: cutting off information through the seizure of domain names by law enforcement, and cutting off financial gain by prohibiting payment processors like Visa and Mastercard from delivering profits to infringing website owners. Robinson discusses why he thinks the Act will better serve IP law if the flow of money is restricted, and not the flow of information. He goes on to discuss what he considers to be troubling about information control, including several constitutional implications.

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Related Links

• Following the Money: A Better Way Forward on the PROTECT IP Act, by Robinson
• Text of the proposed Act, opencongress.org
• “Dozens of law professors: PROTECT IP Act is unconstitutional”, ARS Technica

Woodrow Hartzog, Assistant Professor at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, and a Scholar at the Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, discusses his new paper in Communications Law and Policy entitled, The New Price To Play: Are Passive Online Media Users Bound By Terms of Use? By simply browsing the internet, one can be obligated by a “terms of use” agreement displayed on a website. These agreements, according to Hartzog, aren’t always displayed where a user can immediately read them, and they often contain complicated legalese. Web browsers can be affected unfavorably by these agreements, particularly when it comes to copyright and privacy issues. Hartzog evaluates what the courts are doing about this, and discusses the different factors that could determine the enforceability of these agreements, including the type of notice a web browser receives.

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Related Links

• The New Price to Play: Are Passive Online Media Users Bound by Terms of Use?, by Hartzog
• Woodrow Hartzog’s blog
• “Browsewrap Agreements: The Contract You Never See”, Austin Technology Law Blog

Ronald Rychlak, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association Professor of Law and Associate Dean at the University of Mississippi School of Law, discusses his new article in the Mississipi Law Journal entitled, The Legal Answer to Cyber-Gambling. Rychlak briefly comments on the history of gambling in the United States and the reasons usually given to prohibit or regulate gambling activity. He then talks about why it’s so difficult to regulate internet gambling and gives examples of how regulators have tried to enforce online gambling laws, which often involves deputizing middlemen — financial institutions. Rychlak also discusses his legal proposal: create an official framework to endorse, regulate, and tax online gambling entities.


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Related Links

• The Legal Answer to Cyber-Gambling, by Rychlak
• “Outgoing Miss. gaming chief warns of challenges,” Bloomberg
• “Barton to Offer Online Poker Bill,” National Journal
• “Accused strikes plea deal in poker case,” by Joseph Menn

Steven Levy, a columnist for Wired and author of the tech classic Hackers, among many other books, discusses his latest book, In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives. Levy talks about Googliness, the attribute of silliness and dedication embodied by Google employees, and whether it’s diminishing. He discusses Google’s privacy council, which discusses and manages the company’s privacy issues, and the evolution of how the company has dealt with issues like scanning Gmail users’ emails, scanning books for the Google Books project, and deciding whether to incorporate facial recognition technology in Google Goggles. Levy also talks about prospects for a Google antitrust suit and the future of Google’s relationship with China.


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Related Links

• In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
• “The Problem With Success: With a market capitalization of $184 billion, can Google maintain its reputation as a brash iconoclast?” Wall Street Journal
• “Life ‘In The Plex’: The Future Of Google,” NPR

Peter Sunde, co-founder of BitTorrent tracker The Pirate Bay and creator of Flattr, a new online social micropayments system, discusses Flattr.  Sunde explains the Flattr concept, how it differs from previous micropayment platforms, and why it’s more meaningful than the Facebook “like” button.  He also briefly discusses progress of the Pirate Bay case.


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Related Readings

• Flattr
• “Pirate Bay founder aims to make a Flattr world”, Financial Times Tech Blog
• “Is Flattr the new Facebook Like, but this time with real money?”, Tech Crunch Europe
• Teh Flattr Blog

Gilbert Wondracek, research fellow at the International Secure Systems Lab and postdoctoral fellow at the Vienna University of Technology, discusses his research on the online porn industry.  He addresses various economic roles of online porn providers and the industry’s connections to malware and cybercrime.  Wondracek also explains how he investigated the industry, how he set up adult websites to assess user vulnerabilities and examine traffic, what he learned, and how he got approval for the project.


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Related Links

• “Is the Internet for Porn? An Insight Into the Online Adult Industry” (pdf), by Wondracek et al.
• “How the Internet Porn Business Works”, MIT Technology Review blog
• “Slave Master: How Pornography Drugs & Changes Your Brain”, Salvo Magazine
• “Measuring Porn’s Effects: What About the Users?”, Psychology Today