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Intellectual Property and Digital Information: Law, Politics, and Culture
Intellectual property (Immateriella rättigheter) is an area of increasing relevance and it is undergoing continuous changes, frequently subject to highly visible controversies. Alongside these controversies the number of published works on intellectual property's various facets continues to grow almost exponentially and the literature becomes increasingly multi-disciplinary. At the same time, the decisions information professionals and those working in the cultural sector face become more and more complicated and not seldom tied to ethical concerns.
The course is intended to deal with these issues from a number of different perspectives, specifically considering cultural, political, legal, but also economical aspects, including those relevant outside a Western context. It will provide an overview of the legal situation in a national, European, and international setting and also look at some hotly debated disputes and international agreements. We will gain an understanding of the various forms of intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark etc.) as well as concern ourselves with alternative concepts including the creative commons, open access, open source, but also file-sharing, piracy, and practices of remixing and to anchor them in a cultural and political context.
The course is set up to provide the participants with a good understanding of the issues at stake as well as with arguments in defense and in defiance of intellectual property and of some of the major stakeholders in the debates. It combines guided research and reading of current literature and commentary and theoretical reflection with an aim to equip the participants with the terminology, knowledge, and increased awareness necessary to develop and articulate more effectively and critically reflect on their own position vis-a-vis intellectual property and the manifold conflicts surrounding it.
The course will be held as an online course, using Lund University's online learning environment LUVIT. Examination will be continuous through participation in forum discussions and in the form of shorter written reflections on issues of topical relevance. The course will be held pre-dominantly in English, but will cover essential Swedish terminology. Examination and participation (esp. in the online forum) can happen in Swedish or English, according to the individual participants' preference.
Course start: 5 November 2012
You will receive the necessary login information and all you need to know about the course, including literature, syllabus and important dates, by email about 2 weeks before the course starts. All obligatory course literature will be available online, but make sure to activate your StiL account to get access to the university library's online resources.
(Attention: This is not a law course, but the main aim is to critically
consider the wider contexts of intellectual property regimes and some current
conflicts surrounding it.)
Last modified 18 Apr 2012
ABMA17
Intellectual Property and Digital Information: Law, Politics and Culture, 7,5 ECTS credits
Karolina Lindh
Division of ALM and Book History
Phone:
+46462223022
E-mail:
Karolina.Lindh@kultur.lu.se