roundtable: Internet Law and Policy Forum Press Release (fwd) Forum

roundtable: Internet Law & Policy Forum Press Release (fwd)

Internet Law & Policy Forum Press Release (fwd)

James Love (love@tap.org)
Tue, 1 Oct 1996 10:46:44 -0400 (EDT) 

Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 10:46:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: James Love <love@tap.org>
To: roundtable <roundtable@cni.org>
Subject: Internet Law & Policy Forum Press Release (fwd)
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.961001104623.3017A-100000@essential.essential.org>


Here is the formal annoucement, just out today, for the ILPF

jamie


James Love
<love@tap.org>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 09:34:05 -0400
From: J. Keith Harmon <harmonjk@osc.edu>
To: "'iltf-news@eclips.osc.edu'" <iltf-news@infomeister.osc.edu>
Subject: Internet Law & Policy Forum Press Release

The following was released on Business Wire at 8:00 a.m., EDT:

New International Forum Launched to Address Critical Internet Law and
Policy Issues; Industry-Wide Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 1996

Montreal--A new organization, the Internet Law & Policy Forum, is
announcing its initial funding from a number of international companies
involved in the development of the Internet.  The Forum proposes to
respond to and accelerate the development of solutions for the challenging
legal issues and policy questions arising with the increase of business 
activity on the global electronic network.  The Forum will endeavor to 
produce the building blocks for a more predictable global environment-model 
agreements, uniform contracting tools for electronic commerce, model codes 
of conduct, analytical reports, and recommendations for best business 
practices.

The companies, involved in industries such as telecommunications, 
computer software, and on-line services, have provided over $100,000 to
underwrite the expenses of demonstrating the value of a new international
organization and developing a final operating proposal.  Corporate sponsors 
include America Online, AT&T, Americatel Corporation, Bell Canada, BBN
Corporation, British Telecom, CiscoSystems Incorporated, Deutsche Telekom 
AG, General Electric Information Services, General Magic, Hong Kong 
Telecom, IBM, Mastercard International, MCI Communications Corporation,
Microsoft Corporation, Netscape Communications Corporation, Omnes--a
Schlumberger/Cable & Wireless Company, Oracle Corporation, Premenos
Technology Corporation, Telus Corporation, and Visa International.

Although the funding is coming from corporations, the Forum will work to
enable all stakeholders of the Internet--developers, technical support
and content providers, governments, and individual users--to collaborate 
and produce, through open frameworks, solutions and work products that 
respond to the present uncertainties about Internet law and policy.

The Forum, organized by volunteer experts in law and technology, stems 
from the efforts of the Internet Law Task Force which was launched during 
an October 1995 international conference hosted by the Seattle-based 
Discovery Institute.  That task force has been co-chaired by Al Gidari, 
of the Discovery Institute, Peter Harter, public policy counsel for Netscape
Communications Corporation, and Jeffrey Ritter, of ECLIPS (a research
program on the laws and policies of electronic commerce located at the 
Ohio Supercomputer Center).

The Electronic Commerce World Institute in Montreal (www.ecworld.org), 
an independent international organization that addresses strategic business
issues relating to electronic commerce, will provide administrative 
support to the project during an expected six-month organizational phase.

"Our commitment to support the Internet Law & Policy Forum represents 
the desires of our membership across five continents to promote the
establishment of a predictable, legally secure environment in which 
global electronic commerce can reach its full potential," said Andre 
Vallerand, president of the Electronic Commerce World Institute.  

Ritter will serve as organizing chair.  "Without an established framework,
the Internet faces a confusing and potentially disabling range of national 
laws seeking to govern a global environment," Ritter said.  "The Internet 
Law & Policy Forum offers the potential for a neutral venue in which the 
collaborative resources of those parties that are helping to drive the 
Internet forward can be focused to achieve genuine progress in resolving 
legal and policy issues."  

"The Forum represents a new means for advancing the legal security of  
the Internet by empowering the stakeholders--businesses, governments, 
non-governmental associations, and individuals--to collaborate 
in writing the rules for the global space of the Net.  No organization 
exists today where this activity can occur," observed Gidari.

During the development period, two projects have been commissioned by 
the sponsors to demonstrate, on a pilot basis, how the Forum will function.
Working groups are analyzing the business and legal aspects of the 
emerging functions of certification authorities in electronic commerce and 
the challenges of blocking access to unacceptable materials.  The results of
these working groups will be presented at a public conference in London 
on 16-17 January, 1997.

"During this next phase of the Internet Law & Policy Forum's evolution,
efforts will be directed toward expanding corporate sponsorship to 
reflect an improved global balance," Ritter said.  "A further goal is to 
diversify support among content providers, financial institutions, and private 
and public sector organizations with a stake in the Internet.  We want to
ensure that the support for the Forum reflects the global diversity--
geographical and corporate--of the Internet."  Parties  interested in 
contributing to the Development Fund for the Forum can obtain further 
information from the organization's home page.  

The Forum has established a home page at www.ilpf.org.  Interested parties 
may contact the Internet Law & Policy Forum at World Trade Centre, 380 rue 
Sainte-Antoine Ouest, Bureau 3280, Montreal, Quebec, Canada QC H2Y 3X7; 
phone 514.288.1966; fax 514.288.1177 and e-mail at info@ilpf.org.

J. Keith Harmon, Esq.          (614) 688-4578
Project Director                    (614) 292-1992-fax
ECLIPS                                harmonjk@osc.edu
1224 Kinnear Road              http://www.osc.edu
Columbus, Ohio  43212

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