Class participation

Duration: Tutorials 1-12 (internal students) and On Campus Session (external students) Weighting: 20%

The tutorials are designed to extend the comprehensive and broad overview of IT law principles provided in the lectures by creating an opportunity for the in-depth consideration of selected specific issues. The tutorial discussion will be prompted by the consideration of scholarly articles, relevant cases, reform reports and the solving of hypothetical problem questions.

Tutorial questions - The tutorial questions for each tutorial are found in the LAWS 529 iLearn site under the relevant week.

Tutorial preparation and readings - Students are expected to listen to lectures on Echo on iLearn, complete the required readings (both the prescribed reading for the lectures and the tutorials) and come ready to discuss the questions outlined in the Tutorial Questions.

What do I do if I miss a tutorial?

If you miss one tutorial, please do not lodge an online Ask request. Instead, see your tutor at the start or end of class with relevant documentation.Please do not email your tutor or convenor.

If you miss one or more consecutive tutorials, please lodge an Ask Special Consideration application online at ask.mq.edu.au.

On campus session

External students are required to attend both days of the On-Campus Session.

Moderation

Class participation will be assessed on both the quality and regularity of participation. Class participation will be assessed on the following criteria:

Ability to critically discuss the material  - the student is able to demonstrate reading and engagement with the reading materials and lectures for each week. This will be demonstrated by ability to answer relevant questions, responding to and participating effectively in class debates, and by asking questions to clarify anything not understood.

Oral expression - the student is able to verbally express their ideas about the materials in a clear, coherent, and concise manner;

Engaging with other students - the student engages with others in the class, displaying respect for others' opinions, active listening, constructive feedback and dialogue;

Further detail is provided in the Participation Rubric on the LAWS 529 ilearn site.

 On successful completion you will be able to:

• Apply the law to hypothetical fact situations through analogising and distinguishing.
• Provide legal advice through properly identifying legal issue(s), applying the relevant law to the identified issues, and accurately assessing the likely outcome.
• Develop skills for designing new laws and for reforming existing laws by examining policy debates and law reform discourse as applied to new or emerging technologies areas.
• Present, articulate, and defend through oral legal reasoning responses to diverse questions within information technology law.

Research Assignment

Due date: Thursday 9 April 2020

Weighting: 40%

Question

Should copyright vest in original literary and artistic works that are autonomously generated by artificial intelligence (AI) systems? Alternatively, should a human creator be a pre-requisite for the vesting of copyright. Discuss with close reference to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), relevant case law and the AI copyright law reform discourse in this area. In your answer you may consider relevant international developments.

Independent legal research: Please note that responding to this assignment question will require independent legal research that goes beyond the prescribed materials provided in lectures, tutorials and readings.

Word limit = 2,000 words, not including footnotes and bibliography. Footnotes need to be confined to citations. Citations should be in compliance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Submission method: All papers have to be submitted via Turnitin on the LAWS 529 ilearn. Please ensure that you are wholly happy with your paper before submitting. The system does not allow for automatic re-submission.

Marking Rubric for Research Assignment: Please see LAWS 529 ilearn page.

Moderation: The markers and convenor have a series of meeting to moderate the papers. The markers and convenor then undertake a process of blind marking  of 10% of papers to establish an accurate and equitable marking standard. All Fail papers are double marked by the convenor

Other relevant information

Please note that plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

 On successful completion you will be able to:

• Undertake in-depth research of critical issues in information technology law utilising scholarly legal publications from both national and international sources.

Final Time-Limited Assessment

Due: Friday 5 June, 10am-5pm Weighting: 40%

Content

The  Final Time-Limited Assessment will consist of two questions potentially covering all the material covered in the unit. Each question is worth 20%. The assessment will consist of either: (a) one essay question and one problem solving questions; or (b) two essay questions.

Word length

A maximum word length of 1,200 applies to each answer. This amounts to a total of 2,400 words for the two answers.

Duration

7 Hours

Rubric for Final Assessment: The Rubric for the Final Assessment is available on ilearn.

Moderation

The markers and convenor have a series of meeting to moderate the papers. the markers and convenor undertake a process of blind marking  of 10% of papers to establish an accurate and equitable marking standard. The rubric used in marking is available on ilearn. All Fail papers are double marked by the convenor.

Application for an extension

All applications for Special Consideration need to be made electronically via ask.mq.edu.au and should be accompanied by supporting documentation.

Please do not email to request an extension or email to seek the outcome of a lodge application via email. No information can be provide via email, all information will be provided via the Ask system.

Other relevant information

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via the Turnitin link on the iLearn page for this unit. Please note that plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles of information technology law.
• Articulate the specific rules of information technology law through closely examining legislation and case law.
• Apply the law to hypothetical fact situations through analogising and distinguishing.
• Provide legal advice through properly identifying legal issue(s), applying the relevant law to the identified issues, and accurately assessing the likely outcome.
• Develop skills for designing new laws and for reforming existing laws by examining policy debates and law reform discourse as applied to new or emerging technologies areas.
• Undertake in-depth research of critical issues in information technology law utilising scholarly legal publications from both national and international sources.

Prescribed textbook

• B Fitzgerald, A Fitzgerald, et al, Internet and E-Commerce Law: Technology, Law and Policy, Thomson Lawbook Co, 2nd edition, 2011. (Whilst old, this is the only comprehensive textbook on Australian IT law. Being a niche market, there is a lack of in-depth textbooks in this area)

Tutorial readings

• In addition to the prescribed text book, it is necessary to read the materials cited in the Tutorial Questions. The Tutorial Questions are found on the iLearn site. The Tutorial Readings are also found on the iLearn site. Additional optional readings are also provided at this location.

Useful Journals

• International Journal of Law and Information Technology, Oxford University, UK.
• Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, Harvard University Press, USA.
• Information Journal of Technology Policy and Law, Inderscience Publications, Switzerland.
• Media and Art Law Review, University of Melbourne Press, Australia.
• Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, Northwester University Press, Chicago, USA.
• Telecommunications Journal of Australia, Monash University Press, Australia.
• Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy, Pittsburgh University Press, USA.
• Information and Communications Technology Law 299-314, University of Surrey, UK.
• Computer and Telecommunications Law Review, Sweet & Maxwell, UK.
• Computer Law and Security Review, Elsevier, UK.

Legislation:

All Commonwealth and State statutes and regulations can be found at http://www.austlii.edu.au.

Ensure reference is made, wherever possible, to consolidated legislation.

Case Law:

For reported case law, use the Macquarie University library to access the:

Lawbookonline database (e.g. CLR, FCR, FLR, NSWLR);

Lexisnexis (Aus) database (e.g. ALR, IPR).

For unreported case law, use: http://www.austlii.edu.au.

Websites

See links to useful websites provided on LAW iLearn page.