Information Technology Law
Module summary
This module responds to the immense impact computers and the Internet have had, and are having, on substantive law. 'Computer law' has developed since the seventies from a patchwork of applications of ordinary rules of contract, criminal, and commercial law, to what is largely accepted to be a rapidly growing specialist cognate discipline. It has now expanded to embrace the "new" field of the legal regulation of the Internet.
This module will examine the legal ramifications of computerisation and of the Internet, including topics such as e-commerce, jurisdiction and dispute resolution, intellectual property in software and hardware, privacy, content liability, trademarks, the internet and domain names, online privacy, cloud computing and virtual worlds, computer crime, and online dispute resolution.
Themes such as globalisation, enforcement, regulatory forms (including self-regulation and soft law) and the competing lobbies for consumers, corporations, industry players, rights-holders and cyber-libertarians will be discussed throughout the module. A further focus will be the extent and need for interaction between these themes and legal fields.
Sources will be drawn from the legal systems of Scotland, England, the UK, the US, the EC and Australia.
Session titles
- Introduction to cyberspace and cyberlaw
- Intellectual property protection for software
- Content liability
- Trademarks, the internet and domain names
- E-contracts
- Jurisdiction
- Online Privacy
- Cloud computing and the regulation of virtual worlds
- Cybercrime
- Dispute resolution
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module the student should be able to:
- Identify, contribute to and advance the key areas of debate, from a legal perspective, in respect of the Internet and computers;
- Form a view on the relevancy and adequacy of law and alternatives in advancing these debates, including regarding enforcement and dispute resolution;
- Analyse the extent to which control over and liability in respect of hardware, software, data and website content can have negative consequences for individuals and corporations and wider society.
Assessment
One Essay, 5000 words (60%); one piece of assessed course work (20%); participation in online activity (20%).
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