I am a Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, holding a chair in Computers and Law created 1988. I work within the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, (http://www.jus.uio.no/iri/english/index.html) an institution I co-funded in 1970. This makes me an old-timer within this area of law, consequently I also have broad research interests, an inheritance from the time one thought computers and law was a very narrow and esoteric field. I have worked extensively with legal information systems, text retrieval and knowledge based methods related to this. My interests in substantial law includes data protection (or privacy), intellectual property law applied to computer programs, databases, integrated circuits, and other material in machine-readable form, and media and communication law. I have in the past been member of the General Board of the Norwegian Research Council, and am currently chairing a research program on vulnerability and society within the NRC. I am a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, doctor honoris causa of Stockholm and Copenhagen, a former Visiting Professor of King's College (University of London), and have collected many embarrassing honorary prizes or titles. A sketchy home page may be found at http://www.jus.uio.no/iri/english/nrccl/people/associates/bing.html.

The NRCCL is mainly financed by the state through the University budget, but accept external contracts. Among these are projects financed by the European Communities (though not a member of the EU, Norway participates on equal standing within the research co-operation), funds made available from the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs (the funds are used to sponsor various activities related to copyright), and funds from NORID, which operates the Norwegian country domain .no. These latter funds are used for our research on Internet governance, which is taught in our international Master of Law and Information Communication Technology programme. This sponsorship has gone on from 2004, and English language anthology is expected to be published 2007. A set of ethical rules ensures the independence of the NRCCL from any outside source of funding.

I have in the past been consultant to several international organisations; these include OCED (both ICCP and PUMA), the EU Commission, UNESCO, WIPO, and UNDP. I have also been Norwegian delegate to specialised functions within OECD, WIPO, European Cultural Fund and UNESCO. Currently I am member of the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme (ending 2007). Nationally, I have served within may administrative or legal functions related to culture, for instance chair of the Art Council, Film Council, Cassette Tax Foundation etc, member of the Royal Commissions of the Freedom of Expression (which lead to an amendment of the Constitution), The Royal Commission of Copyright, and the Commission on Converging Technologies. I currently chair the Data Protection Tribunal.

I published my first collection of short-stories 1967, and with my fellow writer Torge Bringsvrd is often given the blame from having introduced science fiction to Norway. I have since them under by own name or the joint by-line Bing & Bringsvrd published stories, novels, dramatic works for stage, television, and radio, and the libretti of four operas. I have translated a large number of fiction and non-fiction works (among them Bill Gates autobiography), and edited more than twenty science fiction anthologies. In Norway, I may be better known as an author than anything else. My next novel will be a juvenile scheduled for publication spring 2007.

I have served as the legal advisor to creative writers in Norway 1970-90, which certainly has influenced my perspective with respect to intellectual property. Currently, I am partner in the law firm Bing & Co (http://www.bing.no/ ), which mainly has aback-office function with respect to other law firms, but also manages my somewhat extensive commercial lecturing.