NETLAW: Your Rights in the Online World.

Lance Rose Osborne McGraw-Hill, 2600 Tenth St., Berkeley, CA 94710. 372 pp., $19.95.

Reviewed by Paul Bernstein

The online world is fairly new and constantly evolving, as are many of the laws and legal theories that affect it. It is our responsibility as lawyers to learn about this world and understand how the law is changing to adapt to the age of telecommunications.

Just at the right time, NETLAW, the definitive book on the subject of online law, was written by one of the nation's leading online legal scholars, Lance Rose.

Some legal questions that can arise in the online world include die points raised in the following fist:

* Allegedly defamatory forum/conference notes are posted on an online service. Is the sponsor of the online service liable for this "publication," as might be the publisher of a book, newspaper, or magazine?

* Allegedly defamatory notes are posted by someone using your ID and password. Are you nevertheless liable for the person's actions?

* A system user uploads a copyrighted article or computer program to a "file library" on the online service. Is the sponsor of the service liable for copyright infringement even though the sponsor was innocent of the wrongdoing?

* Pornographic materials are transmitted from one user to another on the system. Is the sponsor engaging in criminal conduct?

* Are online communications discoverable by opposing counsel or government agencies issuing subpoenas?

* May the U.S. government require all electronic mad to be easily taped and all encryption software vendors to make their programs available to the government for the government's use? Is this a violation of your constitutional privacy rights?

Courts historically look to precedent to decide disputes, but few people would argue that the law is always years behind technology. Consequently, attempting to offer legal opinions on factual situations in the online community is a lot like trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

The law will have to be stretched and molded in some cases before it can be applied effectively to resolve the novel issues presented by online technology. It is with these thoughts in mind that Rose has written his book, which includes chapters entitled "Freedom, Censorship, and Control of the Online System"; "Contracts and Commercial Arrangements"; "Owning and Using Online Property"; "Dangers and Responsibilities in the Online World"; "Privacy"; "Crime and the Online System"; "Searches and Seizures"; and "Adult Materials and Themes."

Many of these topics will affect most attorneys and their clients in the near future, if they have not already done so. Accordingly, it is imperative that lawyers have more than a passing awareness of the legal issues raised by telecommunications and know where to get the answers to the questions that we will all surely have. Reading NETLAW is a good beginning. Rose explores a variety of online lead issues in a well-written, precise, and nontechnical style.

Rose includes sample contracts for various online activities, including a user agreement for online services and a system operator agreement, and copies of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other statutes and regulations. And he provides sources for additional information about online law, including magazines, online resources, books, software, law review articles, and relevant cases (with citations and short descriptions of the relevance of each case).

The number of lower court decisions on legal questions related to computers and telecommunication is surprising, as are some of the decisions. For example, in United States v. Thomas, No. 94-20019-G (WD. Tenn. 1994), the court held that California-based online system operators were guilty of violating a Tennessee criminal obscenity law. The potential ramifications and importance of the principles of law raised in just this one case could provide material for an entire one-day seminar.

Online technology is of great importance to each of us because it affects the economy and our constitutional rights and freedoms. Unless we understand the online world, how courts are starting to rule on legal issues, and how the government is fighting to control our rights to privacy in the online world, we stand to lose many of our freedoms.

Whether you simply want to know more about how this technology is likely to affect your privacy and freedom, or you have or expect to have clients with questions about their online legal rights and responsibilities, Rose's informative book is the ideal initial resource for your library.

Paul Bernstein is a CPA, practicing attorney, and law office automation consultant in Chicago.