Copyright © 2008 – Jeffrey Pittman

Which invention during the last 2,000 years has produced the most profound change on society?

With due respect to the many other choices, the printing press is considered by many as the most important invention

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In that regard, the Internet and the WWW represent the greatest change in the flow of information since the printing press

Changes introduced by the Internet have highlighted and modified traditional areas of law and created new areas of law

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The Internet initially was designed as a vehicle promoting the exchange of research/academic information

The Internet is largely self-regulated; Government regulation is minimal

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As of August 21, 2007, the stock price for the Coca-Cola Company was $54.23 per share; at that price the market value is $125 billion The physical (tangible) assets are valued

at ?? (one estimate, $20 billion) For Google, the current market

capitalization is around $158 billion Physical assets of ??

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The Internet has created novel legal issues and reenergized older legal topics in many areas, including the following:

Lawsuit jurisdiction Use and protection of intellectual

property, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets

Online contracting Privacy & information security Pornography (obscenity) Defamation

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