Internet Law

This subject is not offered in 2008.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The purpose of this subject will be first, to introduce students to the theoretical literature which has considered regulation of the Internet and interactions/transactions occurring over the Internet and other networked technologies. Second, the subject considers 'Internet governance' and will enable students to develop some familiarity with the various entities in both the domestic and international spheres which are involved in regulation of the technology of the Internet, and transactions occurring over the medium. Third, the subject will consider a number of specialist areas of law applying to the Internet, or where the development of the Internet has caused a change in legal principles. Topics include theoretical approaches to the Internet; the domain name system, ICANN and UDRP; select issues in e-commerce; privacy and intellectual property. The subject has a comparative focus, with students expected to engage in comparison between Australian approaches to regulation and approaches adopted in other important jurisdictions, in particular the USA, the UK and the European Union.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of the subject students should have developed the following generic skills:

• The ability to analyse judgments, statutes and secondary materials relating to the Internet, and in particular to:
  • extract important features from judgments and statutes;
  • reconcile apparent conflicts and inconsistencies;
  • evaluate the development of legal principle; and
  • apply principles arising from the case law to new scenarios.
• The ability to write legal opinions on particular scenarios in which Internet or other networked communications technologies are implicated, including:
  • Identifying relevant legal issues;
  • Arriving at reasoned conclusions as to rights and obligations of the parties; and
  • Comment on the desirability of the outcomes of applying the law.
• The ability to analyse proposals for regulation of the Internet and other networked communications technologies in terms of the effect of such regulation on the development of technologies and markets.