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Suggested Reading for IP Lawyers?

Posted by Cliff on from the books-for-the-personal-library dept.

Javert42 asks: "As graduation day comes nearer, and after reading two articles in Wired, the idea of graduate work in Computer Science isn't looking so appealing. I've been considering studying IP law for a few months, but realizing that my only experience with the matter is reading stories on Slashdot, I'd like some more input in order to form my own opinions and basic philosophy on the topics of copyrights, patents, and other IP issues, especially as they relate to computing. What reading material can you suggest that presents the key issues objectively (to start off with), and what can you suggest as far as argumentative works go?"

4 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Anything by Lawrence Lessig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Like The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, plus his blog and if you can find it, his grocery list.

  2. Casebooks for Law Students by CaptainStormfield · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would recommend picking up a few casebooks written for law students (probably available in your university bookstore, or your university's lawschool bookstore, or in your university's library or law library). These are useful for a several of reasons:

    (1) they'll give you a good, thought-provoking overview of the field;

    (2) most casebooks do not assume much background legal knowledge (though they'll probably assume *some* background legal knowledge),

    (3) the cases in the books are "boiled down" versions that present only the important bits of the cases; and

    (4) the casebooks are (relatively) objective.

    --
    "The dinosaurs died because they didn't have a space program." - Niven
    1. Re:Casebooks for Law Students by inkyfellow · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As a law student interested in intellectual property law, I think I can safely counsel against this.

      Casebooks are written for law students, even if they don't assume much background knowledge. They are edited down judicial decisions and are kind of dense for the uninitiated.

      I'd recommend the books written by Lessig, such as "Code" and "The Future of Ideas." They're written for a more general audience, but are chock full of legal goodness.

  3. Some thoughts from a Cyberlaw professor by jezor · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As someone who teaches Cyberlaw and runs a program on law and technology, I'd urge you to consider broadening your horizons a bit, and to focus on practical rather than theoretical discussions. As relevant as IP law is to the technology industries, it is only one small part of the whole picture. Contract law, corporate structure finance (yes, even in this post-bubble era!), privacy law and especially international law are also crucial subjects to learn.

    I'd echo the sentiments of those who said to take a look at casebooks and other law school texts in a local library. You can also go to the sources for IP law: the U.S. Copyright Office and Patent and Trademark Office have some good basic info, as does the Federal Trade Commission on privacy rules. This site has a good list of info. on doing e-business throughout the world. Finally, for an introduction to Internet-related business legal issues, you can always find my book in a local library.

    Finally, you'll need to decide if you actually want to be a lawyer. Law school is rather expensive these days, even for state schools, and the loan burden for many of our students is severe. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to ponder this further. {Professor Jonathan Ezor}