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Terms of use for application programming interfaces (TOS for APIs)
Terms of use are critical. Most allow for the revocation of access if the API provider decides to do so. If that happens to you, you may have little recourse. Make sure you understand the terms before you build a business on top of someone else’s API.
February 2010 / 5 min.
Research preview: the historical case for vaccination
I’m researching how the scientific and medical community presented and developed itself such that the public moved from rioting to cooperation with vaccination.
February 2010 / 5 min.
Should police need probable cause to request mobile-phone location data?
There are currently no firm standards on the kinds of Fourth Amendment protections that should apply to cell phone tracking data. This is becoming an issue as GPS and other tracking technologies have been added to cell phone to satisfy E911 requirements, and as police agencies have discovered the potential benefits of mobile-phone location data.
February 2010 / 3 min.
You do not get an “A for effort” with copyright
In reaction to claims that copyright exists to protect creators because of the effort they’ve put into their work, Techdirt points us to a Supreme Court case that clearly says otherwise. History and precedent back it up.
February 2010 / 4 min.
Retention of transactional Web browsing data
The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years.
February 2010 / 3 min.
Does an open WiFi signal reduce your 4th Amendment protections?
A federal trial court in Oregon ruled that a suspect’s rights were not violated when police – tipped by a neighbor – accessed his unprotected WiFi network and saw child pornography shared via his iTunes library.
February 2010 / 3 min.
Can a teaching-focused law school fit into a public research university?
UCSD is considering merging or partnering with California Western School of Law, but some are concerned that Cal Western is too focused on teaching to fit into a research university.
February 2010 / 3 min.
Is the future of scholarship social? Should it be?
Reflecting on the release of Apple’s iPad, David Weinberger suggests that it is a device focused on consuming content and not producing it, and argues that the true future of reading is to become more social. Jim Milles questions scholars’ desire for this vision of the future.
January 2010 / 3 min.
Challenging the big two in legal research
There have been several new entrants to the legal research marketplace, including the now-established Fastcase, along with free alternatives like AltLaw and FindLaw. Google recently entered the picture by adding legal cases (federal and state) to Google Scholar, and now Bloomberg (known for business-focused research tools) is experimenting with a new legal research product.
January 2010 / 2 min.
Want clients? Be helpful and do good
“Be helpful and do good” is a deceptively simple strategy: just go out and help people, and clients will find you. (Just don’t forget to make it easy to be found!)
January 2010 / 3 min.