Offered
City (Melbourne) First semester 2008 (Evening)
Synopsis
Legal issues such as copyright, defamation and censorship. The practical effects of legal regulation (or lack thereof) on the Internet. The nature of the Internet itself, how the different legal issues interrelate and how the application of different legal concepts may shape the future of the Internet.
Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, students should have an understanding of the internet in its various guises andwhat legal principles affect the use and regulation of theinternet in Australia, encompassing more specifically an understanding of:
- The legal implications of selling goods and services via the internet, including issues of consumer protectionlaws (including the law of passing off), trade marks anddomain names and contracting and transacting on theinternet
- The applicability of traditional copyright principles to the digital environment of the internet* How copyright may be infringed on the internet* Moral rights in the context of the internet
- How the law of defamation operates in an onlinecontext, including what constitutes publication andhow this interacts with concepts of free speech* The laws affecting content regulation, focusing mainly on the Australian situation with some reference to overseas developments
- Privacy laws as they arise in the online context* The international implications of the regulatoryframework of the internet
Assessment
Research assignment (3,750 words): 50% +Take home examination (3,750 words): 50%
