The Ontology of Cyberspace

"David Koepsell demonstrates that it is nothing more than a medium of human expression. The term "cyberspace" is misleading if it suggests a dimension beyond ordinary experience. Cyberspace is revolutionizing our lives, yet ontologically it is "nothing very special."" "Popular culture is filled with misconceptions about cyberspace, mistakenly envisioned as a strange, "virtual" realm of intangible objects with bizarre properties defying common sense. In fact, electrical charges take up space as atoms take up space. Bits and bytes, like printed letters, exist in ordinary space and are objects of ordinary experience."

"Koepsell carefully defines and examines such entities as bits, bytes, algorithms, programs, software, networks, the Internet, e-mail, Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS), Usenet threads, and Virtual Reality (VR), making their ontological status clear." "While earlier philosophers have failed to address the ontological problems of cyberspace, the legal system is grappling with its practical problems. Software has bewildered jurists, who cannot decide whether it is an "expression," covered by copyright law, or a "machine," subject to patent law. Professor Koepsell dispels some of the confusions in legal thinking and discusses possible reforms in the law of intellectual property."--Jacket.