David G. Post
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David G. Post (born 1951) is an American legal scholar. Post is an expert in
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
law and
cyberspace Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
law. Until his retirement in 2014, Post served as Professor of Law at Beasley School of Law of
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.David G. Post: Research & Writing
(updated September 2014).


Education

Post received his B.A. ''cum laude'' from
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
in 1972, his Ph.D. in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1978, and his J.D. ''summa cum laude'' from
Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...
in 1986.David G. Post CV
, Temple University Beasley School of Law (accessed July 3, 2016).


Career

Post was the director of programs for the
American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropo ...
from 1976 to 1981 and an assistant professor of anthropology at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
from 1981 to 1983. Post served as
law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
to
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...
twice, once from 1986 to 1987, when Ginsburg was a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and a second time from 1993 to 1994, after Ginsburg had been elevated to the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. In between, from 1987 to 1993, Post practiced law in Washington, D.C. as an associate at the
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. From 1994 to 1997, Post was an associate professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In 1997, he joined the Beasley School of Law of
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
as a professor of law, remaining there until his retirement as the I. Herman Stern Professor of Law in fall 2014. Post is a fellow of the
Center for Democracy and Technology Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a Washington, D.C.–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for digital rights and freedom of expression. CDT seeks to promote legislation that enables individuals to use the Internet for ...
and the
New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...
's Institute for Information Law and Policy, an adjunct scholar at the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...
, and a contributor to the
Volokh Conspiracy The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a Legal blogs, legal blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertar ...
blog at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''. Post was formerly a senior fellow at the Open Technology Institute of the
New America Foundation New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is an American Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal think tank founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security, technology, health, gender, ...
.David Post: Senior Fellow, Open Technology Institute
Open Technology Institute (accessed June 3, 2016).


Works and views

Post's main area of scholarly interest is
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
law and the relationship of complexity theory to the law. Post wrote ''In Search of Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the State of Cyberspace'' (
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, 2009).David G. Post
Cato Institute (accessed June 3, 2016).
In the book, Post draws a parallel "between the Internet and the natural and intellectual landscape that
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
explored, documented, and shaped." The book earned positive reviews from legal scholars, including
Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence "Larry" Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American legal scholar and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvar ...
,
Jonathan Zittrain Jonathan L. Zittrain (born December 24, 1969) is an American professor of cyber law, Internet law and the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of co ...
, and Sean Wilentz. Post also coauthored, with Paul Schiff Berman and Patricia Bellia, another book, ''Cyberlaw: Problems of Policy and Jurisprudence in the Information Age'' (
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
, 2007), currently in its fourth (2011) edition. Post had authored a number of
amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...
s to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts. Post was a signatory to an
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
from law professors in 2014 that expressed support for the legal recognition of
same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
but also expressed concern that events (such as the resignation of
Mozilla Mozilla is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, publishes and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting free software and open standards. The community is supported institution ...
CEO
Brendan Eich Brendan Eich ( ; born July 4, 1961) is an American computer programmer and technology executive. He created the JavaScript programming language and co-founded the Mozilla project, the Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla Corporation. He serve ...
after an outcry over a contribution that Eich had made to an anti-same-sex-marriage effort) "signal an eagerness by some supporters of same-sex marriage to punish rather than to criticize or to persuade those who disagree."Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Dissent: Why We Must Have Both
RealClearPolitics.com (April 22, 2014)


See also

* List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 6)


References


External links

*
Blog postings
by Post at the
Volokh Conspiracy The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a Legal blogs, legal blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertar ...
on ''The Washington Post'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Post, David American legal scholars Cato Institute people Georgetown University Law Center alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Living people Temple University faculty Yale College alumni Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr associates 1951 births