Document Type
Article
Abstract
In a world which is becoming increasingly reliant upon the Internet and information infrastructures, widespread use of “cyberspace” is creating extensive decentralization of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). One of the most prized attributes of the Internet is its free flow of information to all parts of the world supplied by a telecommunications infrastructure. However, the Internet’s greatest characteristic is also its darkest threat: ready access by anyone, anywhere. With the explosion of electronic commerce looming on the horizon, many companies are beginning to look for ways to control this anarchy and prevent the chaos of unregulated access on the Internet from spreading to their internal computing networks. If a corporation or organization wants to maximize its efficiency and productivity through the use of information technologies, it must assert control over content, activity and access. One of the tools which can help keep the anarchy of cyberspace under control is an intranet. Operating on the same technologies as the Internet, an intranet makes it possible for large-scale corporations to implement protected internal computing networks for organizing data and information. Intranets changing the way information is used, managed and disseminated within an organization. Increased productivity, centralized management of large projects, heightened efficiency and higher returns on investment (ROI) are some of the immediate benefits of implementing an intranet. There are distinct differences between the Internet and an intranet in terms of application which are especially apparent in the realm of proprietary rights.
Proprietary rights on the Internet have been especially difficult to define, particularly since there are no geographic boundaries or borders to cyberspace. The inherent nature of the Internet does not recognize territorial limits; it expands to where the telecommunications infrastructure will allow it. The “Information Superhighway” is anarchic in nature, like a freeway without lane dividers, police or a directed flow of traffic. It has virtual off-ramps which lead to smaller communities of self-contained information known as “websites.” These sites are increasingly taking the form of secure, encapsulated intranets to stabilize much of the anarchy of the free-flowing general Internet. Additionally, by employing a secure and organized means of accessing the Internet, corporations and individuals can maximize the benefits of electronic commerce. The essential qualities of an intranet which make it significantly different and appealing from the Internet is that it can provide structure, organization and security to cyberspace as discussed below. Intranets are a secure means of using the Internet and can simultaneously provide answers to previous questions of jurisdiction and choice of law in resolving proprietary rights disputes in cyberspace. By using an intranet, a corporation or entity can predict with a fair degree of certainty how issues regarding the use of patents, copyrights, trademarks and other proprietary rights should be resolved in cyberspace.
Recommended Citation
Scott S. Kokka,
Property Rights on an Intranet,
3 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y
(1997).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp/vol3/iss2/4