Internet Law: Text and Materials

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Author: Chris Reed

Price: £35.00

Edition: 2nd Edition (October 2004)

ISBN: 978-0-521-60522-9

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For many internet lawyers, Chris Reed's Internet Law: Text and Materials is a key text.  It aims to explain the fundamental principles of law which apply to the internet by identifying the special legal problems which the internet creates, examining the way in which these problems are dealt with in different countries and identifying the common global principles used to regulate the internet.  To my mind, it easily achieves this aim by providing a clear and concise account of internet law.

Internet Law: Text and Materials is divided into ten comprehensive chapters: the internet as a distributed environment; from each according to his ability: actors and activities in the internet world; an infinity of scarce resources: ownership and use of internet resources; new actors on a new stage: intermediary liability in the internet world; on the internet nobody knows you're a dog: identity and identification; old wine in new bottles: traditional transactions in the internet environment; the long arm of the law: cross-border law and jurisdiction; legislative and regulatory arbitrage; enforceability in the internet environment; and facing legislative and regulatory change.

Internet Law: Text and Materials is now in its second edition.  It unfortunately does not come with a companion website which means that, given this review is some seven years after the text's publication, the material is somewhat out of date.  It does, however, still provide an excellent starting point for further research and an excellent analysis of the law between a number of jurisdictions.  For those topics which have not moved on at the considerable pace of development, like electronic signatures, the law largely remains current and postulates some excellent points on practical problems businesses face when contracting online.

For anyone studying or practising in internet law, Chris Reed's Internet Law: Text and Materials is an important text.  It tackles many of the difficult issues in a readable and accessible way.  It is thoroughly researched meaning it provides a considerable amount of detail to support the comparison between the global regulatory framework.  It continues to provide an excellent overview of the growing regulatory framework.  Given the considerable amount of time which has passed since its publication, it is hoped that Professor Reed decides to update this important text on internet law.

Reviewed on 27 December 2011

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