Cyberspace and the Law

Edward Cavazos is Managing Partner of at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Austin, focusing on Intellectual Property. Cavazos is also Adjunct Professor at Texas Law at the University of Texas at Austin. Gavino Morin is Director of Business and Legal Affairs at Bluepoint Games, Inc., and on the faculty at the Practising Law Institute.

Defining cyberspace - a quick tour of cyberspace, activities in cyberspace, the dimensions of cyberspace, the future of cyberspace; electronic privacy - anonymity, the privacy of electronic communications and the ECPA, state privacy law, common law actions for invasion of privacy, the great cryptography debate; the virtual marketplace - business transactions on the net - electronic contracts, acceptable use policies and caller contracts, credit card transactions in cyberspace; intellectual property in cyberspace - copyright law in a new world - a copyright primer, copyright in cyberspace, software, other copyright issues; harmful and dangerous words and the first amendment - the first amendment in cyberspace, freedom of speech, freedom of the press; adult material - drawing the line between the legal and illegal - an overview of adult materials and activities available in cyberspace, indecency vs. obscenity - classifying on-line adult materials and activities, significance of being deemed obscene, laws governing adult material, possession of obscene material, child pornography, what does all this mean?; cyber-crimes - pitfalls for the unwary traveler - the computer fraud and abuse act, credit card abuse laws, wire fraud, the national stolen property act, software piracy, obscenity and child pornography, computer viruses and other harmful software, electronic communications privacy act, state computer crime laws, are the authorities overzealous?; Appendices: where to go for more help; the electronic communications privacy act; 18 USC 1465 - transportation of obscene matter for sale or distribution; 7 USC 223 - obscene or harrassing telephone calls; federal child pornography statute; state child pornography statutes; the computer fraud and abuse act; the Texas computer crime law; state computer crime laws.