#28827
Review: Law and Internet Cultures
Kathy Bowrey's Law and Internet Cultures critically deconstructs the law in the context of legal culture, and especially looks at how U.S. law, practice, and culture has influenced technology law. Bowrey, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales, writes as an "Australian author" but her analysis clearly contains a global perspective as she looks to global structures and laws in other countries such as the United States. The book's analysis draws upon an incredibly broad range of literature including but not limited to traditional "literature" (e.g., Orwell's 1984), economic analysis, communications theory, and cultural studies. She stretches her analysis, connecting the heretofore disconnected (like Foucault, Coombe, Mandeville's travels, Napster, Grokster, etc.) and makes these horizontal connections in the context of discussions of verticality--like globalization, international standards, international patent norms, and global governance. The reading will be difficult for folks without a solid background in information technologies and law (and is just plain difficult for reasons mentioned below), but Bowrey does provide at least brief definitions and description of acronyms where need be. She tends to begin chapters with details and then brings things together at chapter's end--but this strategy seems to work for the complex subject matter. This is a great book for reading out of order or skipping to particularly relevant sections. Each section of each chapter can hold together on its own. Numerous diagrams and illustrations add to the flavor of this unique and much-needed book.
Rife, Martine Courant. H-Net (2006). Articles>Reviews>Legal>Technical Writing
#12999
Legal Code: When Intra Becomes Extra
And somehow, on March 8, months of chat logs--what a CEO and his management team talked about in their almost daily online chats were the ordinary, boring aspects of running a company. But a few posts involved company strategies. The posts revealed negotiating tactics the team planned to use with business partners, and some of those tactics revealed a fundamental lack of good faith. If the public message logs didn't increase the company's liability exposure, they certainly poisoned its hard-earned business relationships.
Fausett, Bret A. WebTechniques (2001). Articles>Communication>Legal>Online
#21549
Legal Communication in Technical Communication Programs: Worth Thinking About? 
What, if anything, should technical communication programs teach their students about the nature of law and the production of legal discourse? When is technical writing also legal writing, and vice versa; when is legal writing (really) technical? Are there distinctions worth maintaining and dissolving here? Do lawyers' relationships to, and problems with, legal writing contexts and processes parallel in important ways technical writers' relationships to, and problems with, technical writing contexts and processes? If they do, is a conversation between the disciplines worth institutionalizing, at least experimentally, in each other's programs?
Stratman, James F. CPTSC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Business Communication>Legal>Technical Writing
#19854
What are these issues and how do they affect you? Whether writing source code, developing e-commerce Web sites, or using the Web for business or as a consumer, you can be affected by Internet law in ways you might not imagine. Our rights of free speech and privacy take on new dimensions in cyberspace. Our copyright and trademark laws are being applied to cyberspace with caution and controversy. New avenues of criminal activity in cyberspace can wreak havoc in our business, professional, and personal worlds. This paper focuses on Internet law involving copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, free speech, and privacy.
Kagan, Elissa. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Publishing>Legal>Online
#31466
Legal Issues Involved in Monitoring Employees' Internet and E-Mail Usage
Many employers have determined that there is a need to monitor employees' computer usage. According to a 2003 survey by the American Management Association, more than half of U.S. companies engage in some form of e-mail monitoring. Often, this is in addition to monitoring work-related communications and activities—including reviewing Internet usage, videotaping the work-site or recording employee telephone calls. More and more employers are engaging in some form of monitoring. Unfortunately, without a full understanding of the risks, employers may open themselves up to potential lawsuits. In addition, such techniques may result in low morale among employees who resent being told that they cannot use e-mail for personal messages and feel that their every move is being monitored.
Towns, Douglas M. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Legal>Email
#10609
The Legal Position of E-mail Disclaimers
Legal 'disclaimers' in e-mail messages, like those in faxes, are now commonplace. These disclaimers attempt to limit the sender's liability for the message's content. This article discusses the effectiveness of these disclaimers under English law.
Halberstam, Simon. GigaLaw.com (2001). Articles>Publishing>Legal
#21349
Legal Research and Citation Style in the USA
The format for citations to legal materials is different from the format for scholarly citations to books and periodicals in general. This handout is a terse guide to legal citation in the USA. The generally accepted style manual for legal citations in the USA is the Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, which is published by the editors of four prestigious law reviews at Columbia University, Harvard, Univ. of Pennsylvania, and Yale Law Schools. A copy of theBluebook can be purchased in any law school bookstore. A comprehensive set of rules from the Bluebook is available on the Internet from Peter W. Martin at Cornell Law School. In contrast, this handout here contains a terse set of rules that agree with the Bluebook, but does not contain all of the fine points and options in the Bluebook. Opinions of some courts use a different format from the Bluebook, but these alternative citation formats contains the same information. Be aware that citations in opinions of state or federal courts may not be the correct bibliographic style according to the Bluebook.Furthermore, the proper format according to the Bluebook changes with time, so old sources (both cases and law review articles) do not use the modern format for citation.
Standler, Ronald B. RBS0.com (2000). Reference>Style Guides>Legal
#31674
Making Academic Work Advocacy Work: Technologies of Power in the Public Arena 
Through interviews and courtroom observations in a case study done in collaboration with a community partner in two judicial districts in Minnesota, the authors extend the scholarly conversation about critical, activist research in business and technical communication and make pedagogical suggestions by studying two groups who contribute to the discourse about victim rights: judges who accept plea negotiations and make sentencing decisions and advocates who help victims contribute, through victim impact statements, their reactions as crime victims and their requests for certain punishments and conditions for the crime perpetrators. The authors identify the technologies of power used by each group to assert their disciplinary authority and trace how these assertions play out in the courtroom. They conclude that by capitalizing on the normative structures of impact statements, advocates may actually give victims more power. Such activist research might benefit research participants and enhance research methods.
Propen, Amy and Mary Lay Schuster. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>TC>Legal>Ethnographies
#23708
Mapping the Information Environment: Legal Aspects of Modularization and Digitization 
The article highlights the language of the digital and the principle of modularization as the basic concepts which the further development of the information environment will have to pivot around, regardless of how conflicts between freedom and control are temporarily solved. Perceiving both the computer and the Internet as complex systems, the authors look at how modular design of these systems freed the functionality of applications from the physicality of infrastructures, describe the evolutionary gains adhering to modularity, and how to preserve them -- elaborating on the issues of access to the cable platform for broadband Internet and to virtual networks for computer technology. Their second focus shows how digitalization of information makes possible the merger of content and its protection. Especially through the use of DRM systems, private actors can create right enforcement mechanisms independent of the State. The legal system therefore faces new and more complex relations between private will and public sovereignty. In such a merged system it is harder to maintain freedom -- much like in the fusion of function and infrastructure.
Ottolia, Andrea and Dan Wielsch. YJoLT (2004). Articles>Information Design>Legal
#27502
La norma di riferimento è la legge 1 marzo 2006, n. 67 pubblicata nella Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 54 del 6 marzo 2006. Tale norma è di iniziativa governativa (Ministro senza portafoglio per le Pari opportunità Stefania Prestigiacomo, Ministro del lavoro e politiche sociali Roberto Maroni di concerto con il Ministro della giustizia Roberto Castelli) e risale al 2 luglio 2003 - vale a dire sette giorni prima dell'emanazione del dlgs 216/2003.
Scano, Roberto. Webaccessibile.org (2005). (Italian) Articles>Accessibility>Legal>Standards
#20351
Le linee guida del W3C in materia di accessibilità dei siti web hanno avuto un forte impatto soprattutto nei paesi anglosassoni dove, per primi, i governi hanno recepito tali linee guida rendendole di fatto obbligatorie per la realizzazione dei siti internet delle amministrazioni pubbliche. In Europa esistono delle comunicazioni della Commissione Europea che sono state recepite dai vari paesi. In quest'area del nostro sito andremo ad esporre i documenti normativi delle varie nazionalità approfondendo l'analisi della normativa europea e italiana.
Bertini, Patrizia. IWA-HWG (2003). (Italian) Articles>Accessibility>Legal>Italy
#27906
Occupational Health and Safety Laws Today
The state and the government, as we understand, are responsible for the safety security of the citizens. The state and its organs understand this as a mandate and this also means realising the lofty goal of safety and health for all in every walk of life.
Honnecker, Matthias. tekom (2006). Articles>Documentation>Legal>Government
#30544
PL is Product Liability -- the manufacturer's legal responsibility to provide a reasonably safe product, and to alert the customer to potentially dangerous uses of the product. PL covers three main areas -- personal injury, property damage, and economic loss.
Camm, Barbara L., Kenneth Ross and Gregory Scott. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Legal
#24630
Protect Your Web Site from Legal Land Mines
This article explains how regular legal audits can keep your company Web site on the right side of the law.
Juillet, Christopher. Intercom (2004). Articles>Web Design>Legal
#18906
Protect Yourself: Write a Contract
For independent consultants, contractors, and business owners, operating with contracts is paramount to your success. Contracts permit you to define the project, how it will be completed, and how you will be paid. They offer methods of restitution should things not proceed as planned or anticipated. Contracts also demonstrate how serious you are about yourself and your client, and make a profound statement about your professionalism. Contracts are not to be taken lightly. Never go it alone; always have a competent lawyer review and provide legal advice when writing a contract or before agreeing to any terms dictated by your client. This paper presents a number of terms and conditions for your consideration.
Maggiani, Rich. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Consulting>Legal
#29879
Reviewing Your Website for Legal Landmines
Establishing an e-commerce website without having had that site reviewed for legal landmines is a potentially devastating lawsuit waiting to happen. Every e-commerce website simply must be reviewed for such vital issues as copyright ownership, trademark and domain name issues, legal notices, disclaimers and terms of use, and privacy policies.probable, that your site and your company are infringing on someone's copyright of that content. Copyright infringement is serious business, carrying penalties that range from $750 to $150,000 per violation. Know the source of your website content and whether
Juillet, Christopher. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Web Design>Legal
#29243
The Rhetoric of Misdirection in Corporate Privacy-Policy Statements
U.S. businesses wish to continue to profit by collecting personal information from their website visitors, yet they fear that the practice both alienates visitors and exposes them both to legal problems from U.S. authorities and business sanctions from data-privacy authorities in Europe and Canada. This dilemma is reflected in the typical corporate privacy-policy statement, which is full of misleading and deceptive rhetoric intended to cover up the gap between the company's privacy policy and the image it wishes to project.
Markel, Mike. Technical Communication Quarterly (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Legal>Privacy
#18483
The ASI Recommended Indexing Agreement is intended to be informative and is offered as an example of some of the issues that may be related to the relationship between an indexer and a client. ASI does not warrant, guarantee, or in any other way imply that this Agreement will protect your rights. Laws vary from state to state, and a general Agreement such as this may not be applicable in your state or for your particular situation. We strongly suggest that you consult professional legal counsel to obtain competent advice about any contract you may sign or offer to a client.
American Society of Indexers (2002). Resources>Legal>Contracts
#21318
Sarbanes-Oxley and New Opportunities
Harkness explains how technical communicators living in the United States can benefit from the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires companies to strictly adhere to accepted accounting practices.
Harkness, Holly E. Intercom (2004). Careers>TC>Legal
#31314
Should You Really Say That in a Corporate Blog?
Has your communication department considered starting a blog about your company, or even getting the CEO to start his or her own blog? There's another department that usually frowns on such endeavors: the legal department.
Fernando, Angelo. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Management>Legal>Blogging
#27833
Small Claims Court: How to Avoid Big Headaches
As professionals, we know to make every effort to obtain payment from clients before resorting to legal action. Doing things such as calling the person with whom you've worked on the project, calling the company's financial officer, calling the company's general manager and/or owner, following up with letters, and following up with more letters sent by certified mail are all good ways to let your client know that you won't be ignored. But sometimes our best efforts fail and the only recourse is legal help.
Aglaia, Debra. Editorial Freelancers Association (1997). Careers>Freelance>Legal
#19239
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act was given Royal Assent on 11 May, and will begin to come into effect from 1 September 2002. The Act removes the previous exemption of education from the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), ensuring that discrimination against disabled students will be unlawful. Institutions will incur additional responsibilities in 2003, with the final sections of legislation coming into effect in 2005. The legislation will apply to the UK, with the exception, at the moment, of Northern Ireland. As the Act is an amendment to the existing Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), it only protects people defined as disabled according to that legislation. This definition is based on an individual's ability to carry out 'normal day-to-day' activities, and so may exclude some students who are usually considered disabled by the support systems within their institutions. Under the new law all publicly-funded further and higher education institutions, schools with post-16 provision, and local authorities when they provide further, adult or continuing education or training will have responsibilities.
Corlett, Sophie. TechDis (2001). Articles>Accessibility>Legal>United Kingdom
#22897
Standard Freelance Editorial Agreement
The agreement spells out editorial responsibilities; specifies the agreed fees, reimbursements, and deadlines; and states what terms shall apply if either party terminates the contract before completion. Schedule A clearly defines various editorial activities so that the editor and the client can agree unambiguously on the work to be done. The completed form is a binding legal document.
#25278
Stanford Technology Law Review
The Stanford Technology Law Review (STLR) sets a new standard in multidisciplinary legal scholarship as an innovative forum for intellectual discourse on critical issues at the intersection of law, science, technology, and public policy. STLR uniquely combines technological expertise with scholarly outlook to provide timely, insightful, and important contributions to scholarly discussion in a broad array of topical areas.
#26387
State Department Bans Courier New 12, Except for Treaties
Just when it seemed typography had no discernable impact on government policy the US State Department outlawed its standard typeface.
Shaw, Paul. AIGA (2004). Design>Typography>Legal>Government
