Although intellectual property is traditionally the domain of copyright, patents, and trade secrets, most of the discussion of intellectual property matters in a networked environment is related to copyright, and discussions at the February 1993 forum reflected this weighting. The use of intellectual property can also be controlled through licenses that have essentially unlimited freedom to specify contractually the conditions of use. Nevertheless, many people see electronic networks as a threat that will dilute the value of their intellectual work. Privacy rights are never absolute but rather are rights that society balances with the need or desirability for disclosure under various circumstances. For example, a network that transmits e-mail may require its users to acknowledge that all traffic is public, but its regular users may become habituated to those warnings and may not internalize them.
Analysis reveals substantive disagreements rooted in value judgments.
For example, forum participants disagreed on the extent to which continuity with past precedents is desirable. The laws, norms, policies, and practices governing any technology or behavior are formed from precedents, often in response to conflicts that arise from customer or market demands, criminal charges, and civil lawsuits. This is particularly obvious with common law, since the resolution of court cases depends heavily on legal precedents. But the same is true of other types of rules. In addition, rules tend to originate in informal sources and then, over time, become codified, first through common law litigation and later by legislation.