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The End of the American Internet
In 1998, all hell broke loose as the U.S. government considered how to govern the network it had created. That fight has now ended, with a whimper: http://larr…
Larry Downes
Recent articles
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Horsemen of the Patent Apocalypse
No one would seriously disagree with my observation that the patent system has become the single greatest obstacle to innovation faced by entrepreneurs and esta…
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The Net Neutrality Walk of Shame
It just gets worse...less than a week after the FCC Chairman calls for simple rules to enforce Net Neutrality, all the thieves have fallen out. Everyone thinks…
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The Persistent Myths of Identity Theft
Stealing credit card numbers from corporate computers is a serious crime, but it is not "identity theft." Why does terminology matter? See below: h…
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Zombieland - Net Neutrality rises from the grave
Net neutrality is back. Rather than rehash my earlier arguments against it, I point out a few relevant differences between the legislation proposed last time ar…
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The SCO Phoenix Rises...Again
I made a lot of people in the Linux community unhappy when I wrote in CIO Insight ( "Battle over Linux: When a Win May Not Be a Win," Sept., 2007 ) t…
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Lori Drew Verdict Finally Overturned
I write extensively in Chapter 8 of my new book,The Laws of Disruption, about the madness of prosecuting Lori Drew, a Missouri woman, for her participation in a…
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The Incredible Information Valuation!
When is a comic book worth $3,600,000 more than its face value? Answer: When Walt Disney wants to buy it. Today, Disney announced it had agreed to acquire Marv…
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Collaboration and the Law
Inc. magazine has published Part Two of their early look at my upcoming book, "The Laws of Disruption." (See Href=http://www.inc.com/articles/2009/04/…
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Innovation and the Legal System
I haven't posted much the last few months as I finished the manuscript for a new book, "The Laws of Disruption,” which appears in October. Inc. magazin…
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A Trillion Here, A Trillion There
What has the on-going financial crisis to do with information law? Everything Financial services today are regulated by laws written when Bonnie and Clyde wer…
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Dog Bites Man - Software Edition
Last year, I complained about the Cablevision case (see Href=http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Past-Opinions/IP-Law-Versus-Moores-Law/>”IP Law vs Moore’s Law”),…