Class notes - Margaret Jane Radin: Regulation by Contract, Regulation by Machine
Last week, Margaret Jane Radin, Stanford law prof on loan to Michigan (and 1L Contracts prof to yours truly), came by to talk about not one but two new papers, Regulation by Contract, Regulation by Machine and Regime Change in Intellectual Property: Superseding the Law of the State with the “Law” of the Firm. Both are interesting, levying some heavy-duty economic analysis at an emerging problem that goes beyond the Internet per se. As society continues to emphasize intellectual property as much or more than real property and license agreements become de rigeur, we are starting to see the flexibility of both contract law and copyright become more and more brittle. Many license agreements “plug up” the holes (such as fair use, in copyright, or unconscionability in contract) that have historically been left as escape valves.
Moreover, the advent of DRM technology (or, as Prof. Radin puts it, TPM (Technological Protection Measures) makes it possible for licensors to implement in silicon what they might not be able to implement in law. This has implications not only for public policy, but for the rule of law itself — yet few people outside of academia seem really concerned.
Anyway, if you want a flavor of our discussion, look inside.
source: Class notes - Margaret Jane Radin: Regulation by Contract, Regulation by Machine
