Law and Culture: Lecture Diary

This lecture diary covers various topics related to law and culture, including digital remix culture, copyright, trademark law, cybercrime, defamation, digital contracts, privacy and surveillance, and jurisdiction in cyberspace.

Running head: LAW AND CULTURE: LECTURE DIARY
Law and Culture: Lecture Diary
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LAW AND CULTURE: LECTURE DIARY
Table of Contents
Week 3: Digital Remix Culture /Intellectual Property & Fandom............................................3
Week 4: Copyright Cont'd /Introduction to Trademark Law.....................................................3
Week 5: Key Differences between various IP types: Trademark Law vs. Patent Law/
Software Patents.........................................................................................................................4
Week 6: Introduction to Cybercrime and Cybertorts.................................................................4
Week 7: Defamation in Digital Culture and Commerce............................................................5
Week 8: Digital Contracts and Problems of Enforceability.......................................................5
Week 9: Privacy & Surveillance in Social Networking and Everyday Digital Life..................6
Week 10: Problems of Jurisdiction, Enforceability, and the Future of the Public Sphere in
Cyberspace.................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8
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Week 3: Digital Remix Culture /Intellectual Property & Fandom
The digital remix culture encourages the derivative works, which comprises a combination or
editing aspect with the existing materials to develop completely new creativity with the
essence of the old one. To evade the associated conflict of interest, professor Lawrence
Lessig asserted remix as a desirable human creativity concept of the digital age. In 2001,
Lawrence Lessig developed ‘Creative Commons’, which approved the permit for facilitating
the remix culture. At present, the digital remix culture is legally protected with the assistance
of the default regime of exclusive copyright permission, which is considered under the
intellectual property. This specific legal interest can help the process of Fandom to relate in
the ‘digital remix culture’. Generally, fans are concerned towards the minor details of the
materials and they often utilise social network as their digital remix practice platforms, which
also comes under the intellectual property right (Schoonmaker, 2018; Borschke, 2017).
Week 4: Copyright Cont'd /Introduction to Trademark Law
“Original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain
other intellectual works” can be considered as the definition of copyright cont’d as there are
certain materials, which are protected by this law. These materials include sound recording
(songs, music, sound, recordings and spoken words), audiovisual works (animation, live
action movies, television programs), choreographic works (imitating work, dance
movements, acting situations), and dramatic works (plays and musicals) among others
(Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 2017). To maintain the legal implications of the ‘copyright
cont’d’ while utilising the stated elements, the introduction of trademark law has been
evaluated. It is highly effective in generating legal regulations to protect the copyrights. The
legal elements of a trademark are associated with arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive and
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generic features to maintain the distinctive clause as well as generating prospective protection
(UpCounsel, Inc., 2019).
Week 5: Key Differences between various IP types: Trademark Law vs. Patent Law/
Software Patents
There are four different types of intellectual property (IP) types including trade secrets,
trademarks, copyrights and patents. Generally, after any invention, its elements and
procedure are considered as the inventor’s trade secret. Before marketing the invention, an
individual should ensure the security of the form of the intellectual property and that the
procedure must come under the intellectual property protection clause including patents,
trademarks and/or copyrights. The following table has been produced to inform about the
Trademark Law vs. Patent Law:
Types Protect Infringement Registration
process
Term Comparative
cost
Patent Utility
patent
Functional
areas
Manufacturing,
utilisation,
offer, import
and sale
Mandatory 20 years Expensive
Design
patent
Decorative
areas
Manufacturing,
utilisation,
offer, import
and sale
Mandatory 15 years Moderate
Trademark Brands Commerce Optional Indefinite
or limited
time
Expensive
However, contextually, in the context of software products, trade secret protection is not
considered as the most favourable (Yang, 2019).
Week 6: Introduction to Cybercrime and Cybertorts
The term ‘cybercrime’ is associated with the networking system and computer device as well
as embed a vast array of illegal activities. By utilising computer technology, criminals can
access individuals’ personal information, trade secrets, and other confidential information for
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malicious purposes as well as their own interest. These activities are considered illegal across
the world. Generally, cybercrimes are two types, one is when criminals mark a specific
computer network or device to hack, it is considered as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks or
cyberstalking and another one is fraud or identity thefts (Panda Security, 2018). The phrase
‘tort’ refers to intentional actions of any individual, through which one can get hurt in a
particular manner. When the same scenario happens through the platform of networking, then
it is known as cybertort. It can be associated with identity theft, fraudulence and fishing in
cyber platforms (Miller & Jentz, 2010).
Week 7: Defamation in Digital Culture and Commerce
The term ‘defamation’ highlights the false development of public and private practices such
as characters, morals, financial status and reputation among others. The digital defamation
considers the digital platform to develop false statements regarding one’s personal and/or
professional characteristics and reputation. At present, the trend of defamation in digital
culture is one of the prominent news, because in the last five years (i.e. between 2013 and
2017) the world witnessed 189 defamation cases. Most of the cases found disputes in the
involved individuals in terms of their social media posts, text messages, chats, emails and
comments on the websites. In the pre-social media period, the prevalence of defamation was
quite lesser than the recent period. Contextually, it is emphasised that the domains of
defamation are not only restricted within celebrities and politicians but also is associated with
the common people and business personnel (Wilding, 2018).
Week 8: Digital Contracts and Problems of Enforceability
The general legislative aspects, as well as judicial objectives, are associated with the legally
valid acts, which can be ordinarily performed to continue the legal process, whether it is
performed electronically or digitally. Additionally, it is also evaluated that the electronic or
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digital performance is valid until it comprises all the characteristics asserted in the legally
valid contracts. Contextually, the contract can also be valid if it is prescribed and claimed
under the applicable legal norms (LexCounsel Law Offices, 2015). The most common issue
associated with the digital contracts is related to the signature, which has not clearly defined
the answer as the solution. The security attribution is difficult and complicated under such
circumstances, wherein it is critical to proving that the signature is developed from a proper
person (MH Sub I, LLC, 2019).
Week 9: Privacy & Surveillance in Social Networking and Everyday Digital Life
In the context of every day’s digital life of individuals, social networking is a considerable
part. Generally, the privacy and surveillance in social networking sites are associated with the
concern of data privacy and protection from the fraudulence, theft and secured digital
identity. Contextually, the existing researches portrayed that surveillance in the social
platform can reduce the individuals’ control over the disclosure of the information. The social
platforms are one of the easily available and accessible media, through which individuals
from different countries all over the world can assess and share the information with or
without the consent of others. On the basis of such a scenario, it is emphasised that privacy
concerns and surveillance in social networking is essential to evade the explicit content or
information sharing without the consent of individuals (Brown, 2015).
Week 10: Problems of Jurisdiction, Enforceability, and the Future of the Public Sphere
in Cyberspace
The jurisdiction does have not any regulation in entertainment materials to develop rights or
impose penalties. However, the cyberspace raises the criticalities in association with the
jurisdiction due to it’s de-territorial nature in terms of domestic and international legislative
implications. Technological innovations and continuous improvement in this field are raising
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the requirements of privacy in order to sustain the balance in the public sphere within
cyberspace. Contextually, it is also evaluated that the enforceability is considered not only as
an essential factor but also a problematic aspect for the authoritative bodies. To maintain the
future of the cyberspace and proper enforceability in the field, data protection is highly
required as the changed legal policy. Additionally, the anti-breach policy is also required to
improve the future of the public sphere in cyberspace (Al-Mahrouqi, Cianain & Kechadi,
2015).
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References
Al-Mahrouqi, A, Cianain, C. O & Kechadi, T 2015, ‘Cyberspace Challenges and law
limitations’, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, vol. 6,
no. 8, pp. 279-289.
Borschke, M 2017, This is not a remix: Piracy, authenticity and popular music, Bloomsbury
Publishing USA, NY.
Brown, I 2015, ‘Social media surveillance’, The International Encyclopedia of Digital
Communication and Society, pp. 1-7.
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 2017, So, what is (and isn’t) protected by copyright?,
Copyright Clearance Center, viewed 07 January 2019, <http://www.copyright.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/10/What-Is-and-Isnt-Protected-by-Copyright.pdf>.
LexCounsel Law Offices, 2015, Electronic contracts: Are they legally valid? International
Lawyer Network, viewed 07 January 2019, <https://www.ilntoday.com/2015/05/electronic-
contracts-are-they-legally-valid/>.
MH Sub I, LLC, 2019, Electronic contracts and the law, Technology Lawyers, viewed 07
January 2019, <http://www.technologylawyers.com/resources/technology-law/internet-law/
electronic-contracts-and-law.htm>.
Miller, R, L & Jentz, G, A 2010, Cengage advantage books: Business law today: The
essentials, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Panda Security, 2018, Types of cybercrime, Panda Security, viewed 07 January 2019,
<https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/panda-security/types-of-cybercrime/>.
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Schoonmaker, S 2018, Free software, the internet, and global communities of
resistance: Hacking the global, Routledge, Abingdon.
UpCounsel, Inc., 2019, Trademark law: Everything you need to know, UpCounsel, viewed 07
January 2019, <https://www.upcounsel.com/trademark-law>.
Wilding, D 2018, Defamation in the digital age has morphed into litigation between private
individuals, The Conversation, viewed 07 January 2019,
<https://theconversation.com/defamation-in-the-digital-age-has-morphed-into-litigation-
between-private-individuals-93739>.
Yang, J 2019, Four types of intellectual property you can use to protect your idea and how to
use them, OC Patent Lawyer, viewed 07 January 2019, <https://ocpatentlawyer.com/four-
types-intellectual-property-protect-idea/>.
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