Course Aims: The course aims to develop an in-depth knowledge and critical appreciation of relevant current issues in media law, including those dealing with aspects of human right, privacy, publicity, intellectual property and related rights; and to develop certain intellectual and transferable skills.
Content: This course builds the foundation and considers certain current issues in media law. Topics discussed will include the tensions among the conflicting interests within media law. The course will draw from paradigms in human right laws such as those governing the freedom of the press, personal privacy, and paradigms in intellectual property and related rights. The application of these paradigms will be tested against cases which have gained notoriety in the current affairs. This course will offer analytical tools for a critical understanding of the law which underpins those and similar cases.
Course learning outcomes:
Students are expected to gain a working knowledge of the relevant laws and legal concepts which govern the mass media. These laws include aspects of human right laws, intellectual property and related laws, laws governing the right of privacy and the right of publicity, as well as those implementing broader social policies. When encountering a factual scenario, students are expected to be able to apply their knowledge of the relevant law to recognise the legal issues involved, to analyse the underlying legal principles, and to formulate and articulate their arguments in respect of the various positions taken within the factual scenario. Students are also expected to be able to critically analyse the laws in view of the competing interests that underpin them.
Students are expected to hone their analytical, critical, and communications skills through guided class discussions, their class essay, and, where available, other assessed and non-assessed exercises. In particular, the course will develop transferable skills such as: - analysing complex legal issues, researching, constructing, presenting, critiquing, and defending relevant legal arguments; problem solving, writing, and time and project management.
