The legal field is always catching up to advances in technology. Once of the many examples is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which only went into effect in 1998. About 7 years after the creation of the world wide web.
In Augmented Reality Law, Privacy, and Ethics: Law, Society, and Emerging AR Technologies, author and attorney Brian Wassom provides a forward thinking approach to how law and augmented reality (AR) work. The topic is near and dear to Wassom, as he heads up the Augmented Legality blog, which focuses on social media law and other new and emerging forms of expression, such as AR. Wassom brings an experts approach to the topic to every page in this fascinating and easily readable book.
Wikipedia defines AR as a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented or supplemented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified possibly even diminished rather than augmented by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.
AR like other emerging and new technologies offer myriad benefits. Wassom details those, in addition to the many legal and privacy issues that go along with them. AR has a dark side to it, which the book details.
The implications of AR are huge, and the book takes a look at the social, legal, and ethical issues surrounding AR technology. AR has entered most people’s lives, whether they know it or not, and whether they want it or not; via the preponderance of smartphones and integrated internet-ready devices.
While the book has a legal angle, it is written for a broad audience, not just attorneys or legal professionals.
The book covers the entire range of AR topics from the legal side (intellectual property, criminal law, litigation procedures, and more), and the issues of AR and society, including politics, privacy, personal ethics and more.
The issues of AR in our lives are huge and the implications significant. For anyone who wants to get a handle on what AR means to society and the individual, and its impact on the law, Augmented Reality Law, Privacy, and Ethics is a great resource.