Joshua A. T. Fairfield is a Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University, Virginia. He is an internationally recognized law and technology scholar of digital property, electronic contract, big data privacy, and virtual communities. He has published articles in top law journals, as well as The New York Times, Forbes and the Financial Times. In 2012-13 he was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study trans-Atlantic privacy law.
Advance praise: 'Property in the digital age is getting strange. You can own things you can't see or touch, like Bitcoins. But your ownership of things you can, like your car and your phone, has never been less secure. Owned is an essential guide to how not to get owned by the things you think you own.' James Grimmelmann, Cornell University, New York Advance praise: 'The transition from an economy built around physical goods to one premised on the exchange of information presents profound challenges for traditional notions of personal property. Nothing less than our autonomy, security, and privacy are at stake. In Owned, Fairfield illuminates the path forward for property. He offers a powerful theoretical vision and a set of practical reforms that could help us restore control over our digital futures. Aaron Perzanowski, co-author of The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy Advance praise: 'The Internet of Things presents new threats to liberty. You don't own your front door; the company running its software does. Fairfield tells us how law needs to change to protect our ancient rights of ownership over the things we buy.' Edward Castronova, Indiana University