Structural Continuity and Transformations of the U.S. Copyright Law With Regard to Computer Programs: Actors\u27 Communicative Interactions through the Use of Structural Rules and Resources

This study analyzes the 115 U.S. federal cases regarding the copyright protection of computer programs, in order to examine how legal actors with different resources interact through their strategic communication activities, which influence the structuring of the information environment of the copyright system. The framework of authorship, work, and use helps us understand the stakeholders\u27 relationships and struggles that are manifested in their legal arguments. The structural rules mainly concerning the concept of authorship and work at first enabled the developers and copyright holders to make effective arguments to extend copyright protection on their behalf. When the cases began to have more actors who are developers but not copyright holders and the actors who are not developers but claim their rights in the programs, the struggle between the developers and non-developers were manifested in their arguments focusing on the concept of work and that of authorship. Through the legal actors\u27 constant efforts to legitimize their interests in computer programs, the construct of authorship has been mobilized yet remained central. Artistic creativity that had been emphasized in other areas of copyright, and independent creativity that had been emphasized in earlier cases of software copyright, is later transformed to scientific expertise, knowledge, and skills. The findings of this study demonstrate the importance of the role of communication in structuration, because the only way that the legal actors were able to legitimize their interests and possibly transform the existing structural rules was through their communicative activities. The nature of the actor, i.e., whether she was a developing entity, was found to be a single most important factor that influences the decisions made by the judges. However, only when the legal actor could successfully present herself as a party that involved with developing computer programs, the judges were more likely to make a decision in her favor. When the actor was a developer but she focused her arguments on the nature of the work rather than her developing activity, the actor tended not to have any advantage over the other party. Therefore, it was the legitimacy gained by communicating the nature of the actor, rather than the nature of the actor itself, that made the difference in the ways the judges made decisions

Image vs. Reality in Korean-American\u27s Responses to Mass-Mediated Depictions of the United States

This paper presents findings from a series interviews with Korean-American residents of Philadelphia. These interviews dealt with the informants pre-immigration experiences with images of the United States in movies, television programs, and magazines. The interviewees were asked to evaluate the role of these images in their decisions to immigrate and about their post-immigration responses to the relationship between these images and the reality of life in the United States. The analysis presented here focuses on ways in which reactions to the images might have been shaped by economic constraints and by values developed through formal education

The Limitations of “Information Privacy” in the Network Environment

The modern concept of privacy as a right to be let alone was developed in the context of print media. With the advent of digital technology, the focus of the privacy concept has changed to individuals’ right to control their information. In this essay, we explore why the individual right to control personal information is not enough to protect privacy in a meaningful way in a networked environment, given the interactive nature of the Internet and the voluntary nature of information activities of individual users. The greatest difficulty for individuals who become the object of surveillance in the current technological environment lies in the fact that as individual users' identities become more and more exposed, subjects of surveillance and their activities become less and less identifiable. Given the power disparity regarding identifiability that always has existed between individuals and institutions and among different individuals, we argue that privacy should not only be an individual's right but also a social good with concerns for the public interest

Whats Happening in the Jury Room? : Analyzing Shadow Jury Deliberations in Korea

This paper looked into the jury deliberation process by examining shadow jury deliberations in 18 actual cases between November 2010 and July 2011 in Korea. Based on the direct observation and the content analysis of the videotaped deliberation, we examined four key areas in jury deliberation in order to gain insights and implications for the institutional design of the jury system: (1) the binding effect of the jury verdict, (2) the number of jurors, (3) the jurors deliberations regarding both conviction and sentencing, and (4) the judges intervention in jury deliberation. The results demonstrate that the shadow jurors in general actively participated in the deliberation process by speaking in turn, and were respectful toward other jurors in debate. The jury forepersons positively played their role by giving jurors equal chance to talk and managed the discussion well. Misunderstanding of law and the intermingling of facts relevant to conviction or sentencing were not as frequent as many people expected: when such problems occurred, they were most often corrected through the intervention of other jurors or judges. Most judges were helpful in jurors reaching a verdict in the jury room. Also there was no definitive relationship between the size of the jury and the quality of deliberation. On the other hand, the shadow jurors tended to state their initial positions early in the deliberation process without fully discussing the issues first. They oftentimes made arguments not based on evidence. In addition, jurors emotions affected decision-making in some instances. Although encouraging aspects as well as areas for improvement coexist, the overall quality of jury deliberation in Korea, as evidenced by this study, is positive. Over time, the Korean jury system is expected to be firmly established as a robust institution to increase democratic participation of the lay people and to enhance the credibility of the judiciary.This article was supported by the 2011 Overseas Research Fund for Humanities and Social Sciences of Seoul National University granted to Professor Jisuk Wo

A comparative analysis of Korean administrations' public relations policies and the implications for democratic governance

This study compares each Korean administration's purposes of public relations, the communication flow of government PR, Press policies, and relationships between the press and the government, in order to examine characteristics and changes in the Korean governments' approaches to government PR. The findings of the analysis show that most of the early administrations purported to provide propaganda against communism and their political rivals. Later administrations conducted PR activities for diverse purposes such as propaganda, the dissemination of public information, persuading the public, and sometimes even promoting mutual understanding. Communication flow of the government PR activities was consistently unilateral across the administrations, from the government toward the public, and mainly through the press. Although President Roh Moo Hyun attempted interactive communication between the government and the public, his idealism did not materialize in reality, and resulted in aggressive and intrusive unilateral PR activities directly toward the public. Based on the findings of the analysis, the study suggests that future government PR activities should focus on two-way communication, especially on listening to the public, probably by organizing local policy meeting and discussion groups, setting up call centers and internet sites that are easy to use and are interactive, and by planning and executing deliberative polling for policy issues

Procedures for Dispute Resolution or for Commercial Control?: Reinforcing the Status Quo in Internet Governance

This study examines how Internaet domain names came to be governed by ICANN, a non-governmental, non-profit private international organization, and investigates how domain name disputes are dealt with by its newly adopted UDRP(Uniform Dispute Resolution System). The analysis examines UDRP policy and rules, and empirically assesses the relationship between decisions of the proceedings and the different factors involved. The findings show that UDRP operates in ways that maximize the commercial interests of existing, large companies at the expense of interests of individuals and small, new companies. The current regime, gives priority to preempting intellectual property-related disputes to protect intellectual property rights, rather than coordinating the use of domain names by individuals and companies. In this process, the commercial status quo of the Internet is reinforced, and the Internet is ironically placed under the most centralized control because the UDRP system is forces upon all gTLD domain names. This paper concludes excluding government and relying on private ordering and self-governance for rule making and the procedures of alternative dispute resolution, may be dangerous to individual interests, especially when the role of government is excluded and individuals' participation remains low

The Concept of Harm in Computer-Generated Images of Child Pornography, 22 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 717 (2004)

There has been a lot of controversy about the harm caused by computer-generated child pornography. This article examines the new ways in which technological development has created new concerns about child pornography especially in the context of challenging the concept of “harm” in the existing child pornography law. The author presents and discusses the existing child pornography laws and jurisprudence as well as the relevant arguments raised against it most of which are based on the “harm” caused by child pornography. This concept of “harm” and the different ways it is conceived and understood is analyzed and empirical evidence supporting such harm is presented. However, such concept of “harm” does not necessarily cover computer-generated images but initiates a new discussion about the purpose of prohibiting computer-generated child pornography where no real child is involved, who or what such legislation seeks to protect and whether preventing harm to children and protecting free speech are mutually exclusive in this context