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Regulating the Creative Industries (931M3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The module looks at international and comparative aspects of regulation, which affect the creative industries. It will start with an identification of the scope and economic value generated by the creative industries, particularly in terms of GDP and employment.

The attention will then turn to the main regulatory instruments, which affect the creation, commercialisation and fruition of creative outputs. The focus will be on intellectual property rights, the law of contracts, competition and employment. The discussion will also address more specific forms of regulation which include the administration of domain names, and the drafting and enforcement of codes of conduct by administrative authorities

The module will address certain legal aspects of the music industry. In considering the process of songwriting, music publishing, producing, recording and touring, emphasis will be given to the management of rights (for example copyright and trade marks) by way of contracts and licences (such as creative commons licences) or via collective management organisations. In addition, consideration will be given to new and evolving business models emerged from the online exploitation of music content.

When looking at the film industry the focus will be on the process of creation, production and distribution of a feature picture. Particularly, the approach will be an international and comparative one to reflect the significance of the Hollywood industry as a point of reference for film production in Europe and in developing countries. Following this approach the discussion will concentrate on the legal protection granted to film plots and film characters, on the contractual arrangements between stakeholders involved in film production and financing, and on the evolving aspects which affect the legal status and international recognition of film actors and their trade representatives.

The third industry that will be the focus of this module is the fashion industry. In this regard, consideration will be given to how the legal framework (trade mark and design laws in particular) affects the creation of fashion design both in the haute couture and prêt-à-porter markets. This will be done in a comparative manner by considering the effect of domestic legislation in markets where fashion design has a considerable commercial impact. There will be particular focus on the regulatory measures that apply to knock-offs, look-alikes and excellent fakes.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 278 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.