Benjamin G. Edelman

Experience

Student Fellow / Technology Analyst, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School. (May 1998 – present)

• Software Developer: Designed and implemented multiple software systems for interactive real-time communication between classroom/meeting participants. Tools include a system to facilitate automated synchronous peer review of text submissions; multiple customizable mechanisms for submission, queuing, and presentation of participant questions and comments; and multiple means of connecting remote individuals or groups to a live event. Systems used in courses at the Harvard Law School and at events of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
• Multimedia Specialist: Designed, maintained, and upgraded system for webcast of and remote participation in numerous Berkman Center, Harvard Law School, and Cambridge community events.
• "New IANA": Designed and oversaw webcast and remote participation for twelve ICANN public meetings worldwide. Involved with ongoing projects including research and advising re membership, tracking of domain registrants, analysis of decisions under the UDRP, and routing/addressing policy. Prepared substantive policy analyses on a variety of technical and policy issues.
• Systems Administration: Operated sixty-node computer network and multiple web servers receiving hundreds of thousands of hits per week.
• Other research: Spearheaded multiple smaller projects re feasibility of open code software development, architectural systems to facilitate distance learning, multimedia infrastructure development, implications of anti-trust action against Microsoft, software systems for protection of underage users of the Internet, taxation of electronic commerce, documentation of widespread and systematic privacy violations, and deployment and limitations of trusted systems. All projects resulted in published work in scholarly journals, popular press, and/or the Web.

Expert Witness. (November 1999 – present)

• Multnomah County Library et al., vs. United States of America: Conducted research, supported by extensive original programming methods, to support a Federal challenge to the installation of filtering/blocking software in public libraries. Quantitatively determined scope, effectiveness, and implementation methods of such software. Qualified as an expert in Federal court, and provided oral testimony under direct and cross examination. (with American Civil Liberties Union)
• National Association of Broadcasters intervention in JumpTV Petition to Canadian Copyright Board and Submission to Industry Canada Rule-making Procedure: Conducted research re likely and actual security of JumpTV video transmissions, blocking methods, and related concerns. Analyzed and documented likely and inevitable flaws in geographic analysis systems. (with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and Covington & Burling)
• National Football League, et al v. TVRADIONOW Corporation (iCraveTV.com): Conducted research and prepared written and oral testimony determining frequency and identity of American and international users accessing iCraveTV web site as well as related issues including feasibility of blocking such access and reliability of analytical methodology. (with Covington & Burling)
• Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Company, LLC, et al. v. the Gator Corporation: Conducted research to determine implementation and operations of Gator software. Prepared expert declarations. (with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher)
• Ethan Shaw, et al v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., et al: Conducted research and prepared expert memorandum regarding analytical perspectives on and estimates of costs of floppy drive controller errors. (with Benckenstein & Oxford)
• DMCA Arbitration Royalty Panel ("CARP") Proceeding: Prepared expert report and rebuttal report re technical systems for webcasts, alternative designs, costs, circumvention methods, and likely future developments. (with Weil, Gotshal & Manges)
• Broadvision, Inc. v. Art Technology Group: Conducted research and prepared expert memorandum regarding similar prior art in electronic commerce systems. (with Hale and Dorr)
• EF Cultural Travel BV v. Explorica, Inc.: Prepared expert declaration re prevalence of "scraping" and automated systems on the Internet. (with Gadsby & Hannah)
• United States v. Kevin Habershaw: Reviewed and evaluated forensic data recovery work of preceding experts, and independently verified conclusions of fact. (with Francis O'Boy and Thomas Workman)

Technical Consultant, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (May 1999 – September 2001)

• Consulting regarding routing and addressing policy, registry and registrar data escrow procedures, Whois protocol design and implementation, new TLD policies and procedures, relations with affiliated entities, openness and transparency, membership verification procedures, registrar compliance verification, and automated request-routing systems.

Technical Consultant, Stand For Children. (January 1996 – June 1998)

• Responsible for all aspects of 60-node computer network for upstart non-profit organization, including purchasing, configuration, installation, training, support, maintenance, and custom applications development. Created 300,000-record relational database, dynamic database-generated web site with secure interactive editing, and automated merchandise fulfillment system.
  
  

Major Projects

The Top-Level Domain Evaluation Project (2002)

Documentation of Internet Filtering Worldwide (2002)

The Effect of Editorial Discretion Book Promotion on Sales at Amazon.com (2001-2002)

Berkman Center Events Archive. (1998-2001)

Classroom and Meeting Tools. (1998-2002)

ICANN Public Meeting Archives and Notes. (1998-2001)

Software Environments for Online Deliberative Discourse (1999-2000)

ICANN Substantive Analysis and Conference Briefing Books (1998-2000)

Additional Projects

Analysis of Domain Reregistrations Used for Distribution of Sexually-Explicit Content (2002)

Large-Scale Intentional Invalid WHOIS Data: A Case Study of "NicGod Productions" / "Domains For Sale" (2002)

.NAME Registrations Not Conforming to .NAME Registration Restrictions (2002)

Alternative Perspectives on Registrar Market Share (2002)

DNS as a Search Engine: A Quantitative Evaluation (2002)

Disputed Registrations in .BIZ (2002)

TLD Registration Enforcement: A Call for Automation (2002)

Invalid WHOIS Data: Who Is Responsible? (2002)

"When the Net goes dark and silent." (2002)

iCravetv.biz/Entervision Retransmits CNN, Cartoon Network, PAX TV, California NBC Affiliate (2002)

Analysis of Registrations in Alternative Root TLDs (2001)

Documentation of Privacy and Security Shortcomings at Buy.com (2000)

ICANN Substantive Analysis and Conference Briefing Books (1999-2000)

Using Trumpet Winsock on Netcom Netcruiser Accounts (1995)

Programming Experience

Microsoft Visual Basic (9+ years experience) and VB.NET

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, Visual Basic Scripting, Active Server Pages, ADO, and OLEDB

Mathworks MatLab

Stata

SPlus / R

Education

Harvard Law School - Cambridge, Massachusetts: J.D. Expected, 2005.

Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences - Cambridge, Massachusetts: A.M., Statistics. 2002.

Harvard College - Cambridge, Massachusetts: A.B., Economics. Summa cum laude. 2002.

Wilson Senior High School - Washington, DC: Valedictorian. Class of 1998.

Recent Awards

Hoopes Prize for Undergraduate Research (2002)

Seymour and Ruth Harris Prize for Best Honors Thesis in Economics (2002)

John Harvard Scholarship, Harvard College (1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001)

Rank I Honors, Harvard College (1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001)

Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard College (2001)

Undergraduate Honors Research Scholarship, Department of Economics, Harvard College (2001)

Detur Prize, Harvard College (1999)