Unit name | Information Technology Law |
---|---|
Unit code | LAWDM0070 |
Credit points | 30 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Charlesworth |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will examine the law and policy issues relating to a number of key aspects of the information society. It will begin by considering the debate about the nature of the influence of information technology upon the development of new legal doctrine, moving on to consider - through topics such as data protection and freedom of information, computer misuse and computer evidence, copyright and digital rights management, criminal content liability and defamation, and e-commerce - both how the law has responded to the challenges of information technologies and the extent to which legal issues have shaped the development of information society policy.
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to explain:
Students should be able to:
This unit is also intended to improve skills relating to research – in particular, the ability to research legal issues and areas of law.
The contact hours for this unit will be 30 hours. This will usually take the form of: 8 lectures, 10 two-hour seminars and 2 assessment preparation and feedback sessions.
Summative: 2 x 3000 word essays (50% each) will assess the candidate's ability to research a topic within the scope of this unit. Both assessments will assess all of the Intended Learning Outcomes for this unit in the context of topics selected by the examiners.
Formative: students should do one formative assessment (this will usually be 1 x 1500 word essay).