module specification

The module explores how creatives, celebrities, media and performing artists are impacted by the rights and business environment and explores the legal and ethical frameworks that underpin creative ownership, authorship, and artistic rights in the creative industries. Students will examine how rights are defined, protected, and contested. Through case studies of high-profile disputes, students will develop critical insight into the rights challenges faced by media, music, arts and entertainment producers. The module equips students with practical knowledge of artists’ rights, licensing mechanisms, dispute resolution strategies, in the global creative economy.

ESJ Framework:

This module will give students the opportunity to choose their subject of assessment within the syllabus according to their own particular interests, in accordance with the Inclusive Assessment aims of the ESJ Framework.
This module will place students at the heart of their learning experience, allowing them to develop both personally and professionally within their chosen legal employment sector. This is in accordance with the Identity, Personalisation and Reflection aims of the ESJ Framework. Creative Rights management is a rapidly growing international sector, offering diverse employability opportunities to future-ready students.

Module Aims:
1.Understand the legal, business, and cultural context underpinning creative artist rights and the enforcement of these rights through contract, litigation and legal procedure
2.Understand the relevant boundaries between civil rights, criminal offences and government regulation of the entertainment industries.
3.Understand the legal issues underpinning legal disputes and case strategy and conduct
4.Understand the commercial impact of the various rights considered
5.Consider the implications of new technology, social media platforms and related issues on artist rights
6.Develop skills of legal academic reading, and research
7.Critical Thinking and Writing

NO 

LO1/LO2
-English Legal system
-Causes of action - crime, civil, contract, common law
-Legal Remedies
-Issuing court proceedings
LO2/LO3/LO4
-Entertainment and music industry cases & disputes
-Celebrity legal disputes
LO1/LO4
-Music rights ownership – infringement, participation and control
-Revenues and income - legal rights
LO1/LO2/LO4
-Content acquisition and copyright in the entertainment and creative sectors
-Confidentiality and privacy
-Brand protection
-Reputation protection
-Personality rights
-Social media and the law
-User generated content
-Freedom of expression
-Non-Disclosure Agreements
-Ethics & the law

-Formal delivery: of the teaching and learning will be based on three contact hours per week
spread over 12 weeks with an additional enrichment week mid-way through the module. The teaching and learning techniques employed on the module will consist of the following: workshops, case-study discussions, videos, as well as problem solving questions in relation to current industry contract issues. Where possible, guest speakers will be invited.
-Outside of class contact hours: students will also be expected to undertake independent study and collaborative work (reading, discussions and own/group research).
-In class students will be set home study questions to prepare for the next class. Students are responsible for preparing for class, and studying relevant materials (articles, texts, case study, video etc) before coming. Teaching is delivered through a blended learning model, using weekly classroom workshops and Weblearn Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), in order to explore themes and identify issues typical of the music contracts & business affairs sector.
-Feedback -Students will receive both formative and summative feedback for their assessment, within 15 week days.

Assessment & ESJ Framework:

1.Formative Assessment: In preparation for the assessment, students will be invited to collaborate in groups on an early formative assignment in week 5.
In accordance with the Identity, Personalisation and Reflection aims of the ESJ Framework, this is designed to help students’ build confidence, self-efficacy and emotional resilience, and creating trust and safe spaces to enable our students to express themselves and have their contributions validated.
Seminars will also be used to facilitate the building of good relations among students and teachers and develop peer relations and the use of peer support.
Opportunities for reflective learning will be available throughout the module as students’ are given the opportunity to consider their approach to tasks/discussions, whilst having the opportunity to reflect upon informal feedback.

2. Summative Assessment
This module will give students the opportunity to choose the subject of assessment within the syllabus, according to their own particular interests.
In accordance with the Inclusive Assessment aims of the ESJ Framework, this will help our student partners become co-creators of assessment knowledge, researching ideas about content that reflects individual students’ identities, experiences and interests. The opportunity to choose the assessment topic and format aims to reduce assessment anxiety and develop student confidence.
This module is designed to help students to self-evaluate, to aid decision making, to learn from mistakes and to help orientate the students’ future career and build employability skills.

On successful completion of the module, students will:
1. Identify and explain key legal concepts and rights (LO1)
2. Develop key skills of case analysis and the presentation of legal argument (LO2)
3. Understand key artist rights and entertainment cases from a commercial & cultural perspective (LO3)
4. Display and develop their skills of independent learning and research (LO4)
 

Online Reading List:

https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/7CB6E852-4977-FFFC-C468-ECA32903AAB2.html?lang=en-GB

Texts:
Towse, R. (2020) A Textbook of Cultural Economics. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press.
Negus, K. (2002) The Work of Cultural Production. Sage.
Passman, D.S. (2023) All You Need to Know About the Music Business. 11th ed. Simon & Schuster.
Artists' Rights: A Guide to Copyright, Moral Rights and Other Legal Issues in the Visual Art Sphere, orsen Stech, M. Oxford (2017)
Fenwick, Helen and Phillipson, Gavin (2016), Media Freedom under the Human Rights Act, LexisNexis

Additional:
Information Technology Law: The Law and Society (Law & Society 2019)
Harrison A. Music: The Business (Virgin 2018)
Rozenberg, Joshua (2016) Privacy and the Press, Oxford
Carey P, & Sanders, J. Media Law, Sweet & Maxwell, 2017
Robertson, G and Ncol, A., 2017. Media Law (4th ed). London: Sweet and Maxwell.
Bainbridge D. Intellectual Property (Pitman 2018)
Passman D.S. All You Need To Know About The Music Business (Penguin 2018)

Journals:
Entertainment Law Review (Sweet & Maxwell)
Entertainment & Media Law Reports (Sweet & Maxwell)

Online:
UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) – https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office
Creative Commons Legal Tools – https://creativecommons.org/about/program-areas/licenses
Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center – https://fairuse.stanford.edu
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property
Music Business Worldwide – https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com
Rolling Stone Music Legal News – https://www.rollingstone.com/t/music-lawsuits
Billboard Biz / Pro – https://www.billboard.com/pro

Databases:
Lexis Nexis Database
The Law Reports
Westlaw Database
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology/