Cyberlaw Final Exam 2008

Welcome to the Cyberfinal. The following exam has been designed to maximize testing of the concepts and reasoning process which have been the foundation of the course this summer. Do not attempt to adjust the resolution of your monitor. The facts are intentionally blurred to facilitate a demonstration of your knowledge.

Remember, there is no opportunity to rewrite the final. What you score is what you get. Good luck and may the nam shrub be with you.

Rather than a simple regurgitation of information in the form of lists or outlines, this exam, artfully completed, requires identification of issues or problems, analysis employing the concepts addressed in readings and class, and conclusions or solutions. In all answers, exhaustive analysis and treatment in prose is an absolute requirement of those aspiring to higher grades. Clever essays synthesizing a variety of points of view and including speculation from Snow Crash will be rewarded.

You have until the night of the final exam to finish this exam. Your answers must be written or printed and must be submitted to me by 6:30 pm on the night designated for the final.

Answer the Following Question Completely:

You are the intellectual property compliance officer for the Pornography R Us, a company specializing in online adult entertainment. They are located in New Jersey. The company posted a large number of thumbnail photographs that it captured from dating sites to which the company subscribed. The pictures were used on the company's website as popups to lure business to their online insurance company. The pictures were sexually explicit in many ways. Some were from artists who had posted their photos of themselves but in artistic contexts. Others were just plain pornography. A federal attorney in the state of Jesusabama wrote to your company alleging that the pictures were obscene. Your company derives 80% of its income from internet business drawn to the site with the pornography on it. Your company wants to know how to protect itself.

In the meantime, your company joined the National Division of Companies Using Porn Sites (NDCUPS) which is lobbying against regulation.

The Company also uses the information gathered to sell to other marketing companies.

Dirk Dingler, an elementary school teacher, was accessing his AOL account during school hours when 35 pop-up ads featuring pornography appeared on his screen. The superintendant summoned him to school and summarily dismissed him. He happens to be a friend of yours who has consulted you about what to do. To make matters worse, one of Dirk's emails arriving at school seemed to be addressed to him in return to his email to a minor. He had pretended to be 15 years old.

Spot the issues and resolve them citing principles and law with appropriate reference to Lessig and other considerations.

May the force be with you.

Good luck and have a happy holiday.