CHANGING TECHNOLOGY, CHANGING LAWS

The two conferences described below were mentioned in the current Economist magazine special on information technology. They both illustrate the need to rethink not only law, but the basic philosophical principals that underlie the law when new technology results in new conditions.

The Law and Technology of Digital Rights Management
This conference sought to confront the controversies surrounding digital rights management (DRM). Sessions were titled "DRM as an enabler of business models," "Impacts of DRMs on innovation, competition, and security," "Impacts of DRMs on flows of information," “Impacts of DRMs on consumers," "DRM-related legal and policy initiatives in the U.S.," and " Anti-circumvention regulations in the U.S. and elsewhere." It was held in Berkeley, California, February 27 through March 1, 2003. The "Resources" section of the conference website has posted a large number of resources. Some of the presentations at the meeting were recorded, and there are audio and visual media downloads available.

Spectrum Policy: Property or Commons?
Spectrum policy is undergoing a fundamental reorientation in the United States and elsewhere. An emerging consensus holds that the traditional system of governmentally-allocated spectrum rights inhibits innovation and competition. The central question now facing policy makers is what form of spectrum management should replace the existing system. These issues were discussed and debated at this event, held in Stanford, California, March 1 and 2, 2003. The website has a number of resources that can be downloaded, as well as biographic material on the speakers, who number some of the leaders in the field.

One interesting aspect of this latter conference is the set of blogs blogging the conference. I imagine many or all of them might be of interest to any readers who may have found my blog:

Scott Mace's Radio Weblog.

Joi Ito's Web

Boing Boing [Cory Doctorow]

Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal - The Airwaves: Open or Owned

Aaron Swartz: The Weblog

Geodog's MT Weblog: Impressions of the Spectrum Policy debate

Doc Searls

Legal Theory Blog

Stuart Buck

Connected: Sarah Lai Stirland - Corante

Speaking of which, Courante has a whole set of bloggers, many posting in areas of interest to Knowledge for Development readers.