060.01 Rules of the road: network law by Patrice Lyons, Esquire When I was out driving last weekend, I noticed a stop sign placed at a dangerous intersection. Down the road a bit, there was another sign to indicate a hidden driveway. We often take such indicators for granted. Rules of the road have evolved over time in most parts of the world for the protection of motorists and pedestrians alike. By facilitating the flow of traffic, these rules contribute to the orderly conduct of commerce. In the case of the Internet, however, we are still in the early stages of reaching a consensus on the digital equivalent of basic rules of conduct to govern access to and the orderly dissemination of information. This space in the Internet News will be used to focus attention on specific legal issues arising in the context of the Internet. In doing so, it may serve to advance the development of rules of conduct for the Internet community, or, at least flag important matters for more detailed consideration. Please let the editor know if there are legal concerns about networking that you would like to see discussed. We will attempt to cover them in up-coming issues. To initiate this forum on network law, I have elected to focus attention on what I consider to be the most basic of rules for the user of networks, namely respect for the rights of individual authors. In particular, I refer to the right to claim authorship as set forth in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Generally, by denying an author credit for a work, the public may be misled into believing a third party was the actual creator. There are at least three aspects of this right to consider: (1) the right to be named as author; (2) the right to object to another person being identified as the author of your work; and (3) the right not to be identified as the author of a work created by another person. In addition, an author may decide to remain anonymous or to adopt a pseudonym. In the context of the Internet, where portions of a work created by a person may easily be taken out of context, it may be useful to consider the development of standard electronic identifiers that would follow works, or excerpts from works, as they migrate over the Internet. For example, an electronic system of footnoting may point the reader back to the Internet mailbox of the source, together with a mention of the author's name and the time, date and place of origination. False attribution of authorship and other violations of this "moral right" may be avoidable. Such a system may provide for the electronic equivalent of road signs to facilitate the flow of information over the Internet. Law Offices of Patrice Lyons, Chartered