Computer Law 484 Professor Richard H. Stern Permission Page

• It is assumed that, if you got this far, you have access to and know how to use a computer that has a browser such as Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape 6 or higher, or IE 5 or higher. (Large portions of the copyright part of this course rest on those assumptions and are incomprehensible to non Internet users.) If this assumption is wrong in your case, stop here.

• An E.E. or C.S. degree is not required for this course. But it is often difficult for students without that background to understand the issues that cases raise. The course is geared to students who are self-directed and are at least mildly technophilic. Those students without technical background can deal with the cases (as, after all, judges do), but they will need to find outside sources of information to catch up with other students, and at the very least to read all of the limited tutorial materials in the casebook. Students with no technical background and no prior familiarity with software and Internet technology may well be disappointed with the course, because it may seem to them not well adapted to their needs.

• It is a course requirement for undergraduate students that they have previously taken a patent law or copyright course. Also, for reasons that will appear, you need to be highly motivated, to make the course worth your while. If you really like IP and technology, keep reading. If you are lukewarm or downright hostile to either, it may not be a good idea to read further.

• There is no final examination. Instead, a paper is required. The grade for the course will be based on the paper, subject to the next paragraph. For a discussion of the requirements for the term paper, select Paper.

• It is expected that each person taking the course will be prepared to contribute to the discussion during class — on the basis of having read and considered the cases, notes, and other materials to be discussed, including those posted from time to time at the bulletin board of the course Web site. (Grades may be raised or lowered by one grade step on the foregoing basis, for example, from B to B+.) For undergraduates to be permitted to take the course, they must make a personal commitment to reading and considering the foregoing cases, notes, and materials, on a regular basis, and to (at least occasionally) speaking out in class. Please now go to the Web Table of Contents for the course materials and select some material at random to browse before continuing further on this page.

• The subject matter of Computer Law 484 may often seem chaotic and disordered, even irrational. (That is a problem with computer-related IP law.) There are not many answers, and at the very least there are many more questions than answers. This is not a stable, well ordered part of the law. It lacks a coherent structure and you will often be left with the feeling that courts have made it up ad hoc. People who are uncomfortable with disorderly seeming parts of the law would probably be happier studying something else that seems to make more sense and be more structured. (GWLS has many other courses that meet that requirement.)

• It is highly unlikely that you will be able to go away after a semester with a head stuffed with black letter computer law. There are at least two big obstacles to any of that. The first is the present state of computer law — it is still very much a work in progress (see preceding paragraph). The second obstacle is the way this course is taught. This course is not taught as a black-letter law course. If you seek that, you should take a different course more suited to that purpose. There will be little in the way of lectures that will lay everything out so that your class notes provide you with a computer law primer or hornbook. Rather, class discussions will tend to wrestle with questions that do not have well defined answers. There are many unresolved issues, and our joint success in wrestling them to the ground is unlikely. Some students will not be pleased with that approach. Those students deserve fair warning that this course is not suited to their preferred teaching style. This is a key point, and you will want to read this paragraph again.

• There is a reason for the saying in the computer field that the leading edge is the bleeding edge. Computer Law 484 tries to follow the cutting edge of the law, but it's not always clear which way the blade is pointed.

• If after reading all of the foregoing you still want to take this course, you are most welcome. Do this to get registration permission as an undergraduate: Send an email to rstern@computer.org — into which you have cut-and-pasted the following message:

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I have read with care the material at www.law.gwu.edu/facweb/claw/permissn.htm; I have browsed some of the chapters; and I am such a technophile and IP enthusiast that I still want to take Computer Law 484. I can live with the stated requirements and I am not deterred by the possible rough spots.

      (name) ___________________

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Based on the foregoing representations, and acting in reliance thereon, the professor will send you a REPLY email that says (more or less)

OK. Best Wishes, [sig block]

You can print it out and show it to Records if anyone questions your registration for Computer Law 484.