Information Technology and the Law

We are currently experiencing a period of extraordinarily rapid development of ICTs with widespread social ramifications. The most prominent of these developments are those accompanying the rise of the Internet as an increasingly integral aspect of many transactions in daily life. The pace, scope and complexity of the changes pose severe difficulties in making sense of what is actually going on, let alone figuring out how to influence development in positive directions.This book focuses on a wide array of legal, regulatory and public policy issues related to e-commerce / e-business, the Internet and information technology about which managers, IT professionals, and others should be knowledgeable. Topics such as private law issues the ownership, protection and exploitation of intellectual capital including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets; regulatory issues including antitrust e-marketing, ISP and website liability including defamation and copyright infringement, securities regulation and criminal acts and policy issues including privacy rights, security and encryption, and obscene materials online. This book is designed for technologists and managers responsible for creating and implementing policies for protecting IT resources within private corporations or government agencies. It also intended to help law enforcement practitioners to take right actions against cyber crimes. It surveys the leading privacy, criminal, intellectual property and regulatory laws that establish liability and boundaries related to enterprise information systems. It focuses on the practical implications of these laws and the issues that should be covered in an enterprise security policy.