Overview
This unit investigates the law of the Internet. It examines the legal issues relevant to websites, software and hardware. The areas covered include jurisdiction, privacy, Internet content regulation, software licensing, crime, games, e-commerce, authentication, signatures and encryption, copyright, domain names and trademarks, patents and circuit layouts.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: LAWS11057, LAWS11059, LAWS11061, LAWS11062, LAWS11063, LAWS11064, LAWS11060, (LAWS11065 or LAWS12055)
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student surveys.
Peer interaction is difficult with small class numbers, particularly for an online course.
CQU policy requires advertised courses to run, no matter how many enrollments. This course runs every two years in order to maximise enrollments.
- Explain and critique national and international Internet legal frameworks and regulation.
- Discuss the civil and criminal liability risks of Internet activities and associated risk management strategies.
- Research, analyse and present appropriate solutions to common legal problems associated with information technology.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
Prescribed readings available via Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 3rd ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.haataja@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
1 Source Code and Conventions
Chapter
Lawrence Lessig, ‘The Law of the Horse: What Cyberlaw Might Teach’ (1999) 113(2) Harvard Law Review 501
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
2 Regulating the Virtual and the Digital
Chapter
Brian Fitzgerald et al, Internet and E-Commerce Law – Technology Law and Policy (2nd ed, 2011) Ch 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
3 Globalisation, Virtual Jurisdiction, Digital Governance
Chapter
Brian Fitzgerald, ‘Dow Jones & Co Inc v Gutnick: Negotiating ‘American Legal Hegemony in the Transnational World of Cyberspace’ (2003) 27 Melbourne University Law Review 590
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
A Virtual Identity
4 Digital Authentication and Security
Chapter
Ben Buchanan, ‘Bypassing encryption: ‘Lawful hacking’ is the next frontier of law enforcement technology’ The Conversation (March 2017) available at http://theconversation.com/bypassing-encryption-lawful-hacking-is-the-next-frontier-of-law-enforcement-technology-74122
Paul McLaughlin, ‘Crypto Wars 2.0: Why Listening to Apple on Encryption Will Make America More Secure’ (2016) 30(2) Temple International & Comparative Law Journal 353
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
5 Digital Privacy
Chapter
Sara Smyth ‘Does Australia Really Need Mandatory Data Breach Notification Laws - And If So, What Kind’ (2013) 22(2) Journal of Law, Information and Science 159
PricewaterhouseCoopers, ‘Australia introduces mandatory data breach notification regime’ (14 February 2017) available at http://www.pwc.com.au/legal/assets/legaltalk/privacy-amendment-notifiable-data-breaches-bill-2016.pdf
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
B Virtual Business
6 Digital Technology Contracts
Chapter
Yee Fen Lim, Cyberspace Law: Commentaries and Materials (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2007) Ch 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
7 Digital Software Licensing
Chapter
Andres Guadamuz, ‘Free and Open Source Software’ in Lilian Edwards and Charlotte Waelde (eds), Law and the Internet (Hart, 2009) Ch 11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
C Virtual Space
8 Digital Speech and Media
Chapter
Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2016: Australia (2016) https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN%202016%20Australia.pdf
Freedom House, Silencing the Messenger: Communication Apps under Pressure (November 2016) https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2016_BOOKLET_FINAL.pdf pp 1-27
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
9 Digital Games
Chapter
Bobby Glushko, ‘Tales of the (Virtual) City: Governing Property Disputes In Virtual Worlds’ (2007) 22(1) Berkeley Technology Law Journal 507
Yee Fen Lim, ‘Is it really just a game? Copyright and online role-playing games’ (2006) 1(7) Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 481
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
E Virtual Wrongs
10 Digital Crime
Chapter
Roderic Broadhurst, ‘Cybercrime in Australia’ in Antje Deckert and Richard Sarre (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) Ch 19
Dane Weber, ‘The Cybernetic Sea: Australia’s Approach to the Wave of Cybercrime’ (2014) 14(2) QUT Law Review 52
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
11 Digital Piracy
Chapter
Tom Golder and Richard Sawyer, ‘Dallas Buyers Club: protecting Australian consumers from ‘speculative invoicing’’ (2015) 10(12) Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 896
Anita Cade and Marlia Saunders, ‘Content Denied: ISPs Ordered to Block Overseas Piracy Websites’ (2017) 4(31) Law Society Journal 76
Anna Spies and Cate Nagy, ‘The new website blocking power: s 115A of the Copyright Act’ (2015) 28(8) Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin 210
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
12 Compile and Code Comments
Chapter
The final assessment will be held in week 12 so there are no new materials to read for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Presentation and Written Assessment
This assessment item requires you to write a 2500 word research essay and submit a 5 minute video presentation that provides a summary of your research. The essay question and topics will be made available in week 1.
Week 7 Monday (28 Aug 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 9 Friday (15 Sept 2017)
- Understanding of issues raised by internet/digital technology in chosen area of law
- Critical analysis of impact of internet/digital technology on chosen area of law
- Quality of argument developed in response to essay question
- Independent research evidenced by reference to academic sources consistent with AGLC
- Quality of expression, communication skills, structure, and presentation
- Explain and critique national and international Internet legal frameworks and regulation.
- Discuss the civil and criminal liability risks of Internet activities and associated risk management strategies.
- Research, analyse and present appropriate solutions to common legal problems associated with information technology.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
2 Written Assessment
This assessment item is a take home paper which requires you to answer short answer questions and hypothetical problems based on the topics covered in the unit. It will be made up 5 questions (2 hypothetical problems worth 15% each and 3 short answer questions worth 20% in total).
Week 12 Wednesday (4 Oct 2017) 12:00 pm AEST
The take home paper will be made available at 8:00 AM AEST on Tuesday 3 October 2017. It is due by 12:00 PM AEST (noon) on Wednesday 4 October 2017.
Exam Week Friday (20 Oct 2017)
- Understanding of topics covered in course
- Ability to use problem solving skills to answer hypothetical legal problems
- Written communication skills
- Explain and critique national and international Internet legal frameworks and regulation.
- Discuss the civil and criminal liability risks of Internet activities and associated risk management strategies.
- Research, analyse and present appropriate solutions to common legal problems associated with information technology.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
