One lectureship and one PhD studentship of interest. All words are that of the advertisements and queries should be addressed to the advertising institutions.

Lecturer in European Union Commercial Law (University of Essex)

The School of Law wishes to appoint a Lecturer in European Union Law with a firm commitment to teaching at LLB and LLM level. The areas of greatest interest include Internal Market law, EU Company law as well as electronic communications/Internet law. We would welcome applications from candidates with the ability to teach some element of French Law.

Candidates should be able to demonstrate an excellent research profile or (in the case of applicants for whom this is a first academic appointment) strong demonstrable research potential.

The School was rated “5” in both the 1996 and 2001 Research Assessment Exercises, and its teaching has been assessed as “Excellent” by HEFCE. The School has a policy that all academics contribute in an equitable manner to its administrative load.

Salary: £36,532-£43,622 per annum; Closing date: 16 November 2008; Apply online (Ref. AC705)

PhD Scholarship in Media Law (University of Melbourne)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for an Australian Research Council-funded PhD scholarship, commencing in 2009 (the starting date is negotiable). The scholarship is offered through an ARC Discovery Project held by Professor Andrew Kenyon, which involves a comparative examination of defamation and privacy laws, media production practices and public speech. It will be based at the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School.

The scholarship holder’s research will address a topic within the scope of the Discovery Project. For example, one possible PhD research project would investigate the concept of “responsible journalism” in English defamation law and the treatment of journalistic conduct under United States defamation law. Topics drawing on disciplines within the broad field of media studies, as well as on media law, would be particularly welcome.

Applicants should hold a high honours degree in law, and preferably also have qualifications in a field related to media studies. The scholarship is valued at $26,140 per annum for three years.

The closing date for applications is Friday 5 December 2008.

For further information, contact Professor Andrew Kenyon.

The following has been published as a working paper on SSRN. Comments are very welcome. It’s already going out of date in at least three areas.

‘It Is Hereby Declared’: The Quiet Reform of Canadian Broadcasting Law

This paper, presented at the Media and Communications session of the Society of Legal Scholars in 2008, is a review of recent developments in Canadian broadcasting regulation, with an emphasis on those developments related to the growth of (mostly Internet-based) new media. It is argued that dealing with the question of new media represents a particular challenge for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and to the landmark Broadcasting Act of 1991. It is also proposed that the parallel discussions in the public policy arena on cultural funding and intellectual property form an integral part of the broadcasting regulatory system in the current age. Taken together, the various initiatives and decisions of the last five years represent quite significant reform, and it can be said that the mandate for broadcasting in Canada set out in the Act is undergoing a subtle transformation, whether that be through CRTC, industry or other action. In this context, concerns raised regarding transparency and participation in the democratic process, key elements of the historical approach to broadcasting and the law in Canada, are highlighted and assessed.

I enjoyed working on this as it was a good way to try and bring together what is literally a pile of notes, photocopies, bookmarks and ideas gathered over a few years. It really was a reminder of how much is going on, though - and indeed how much has happened over the short period of my own doctoral studies. Confucius how are ya? Presenting it at the SLS last month, it turned out that I was speaking alongside Mike Varney and Ian Walden, and an interesting link based around net neutrality did emerge from all of the contributions.

SCRIPT, the law and technology centre at the University of Edinburgh Law School, is the home of peer-reviewed journal SCRIPT-ed. I’ve joined the journal as an Associate Editor this year and encourage you to consider it for publishing your research - please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this. Right now, though, be aware that the deadline for the submission of proposals for the journal’s 2009 conference, which is also a celebration of SCRIPT-ed’s fifth anniversary. is fast approaching.

The theme of the conference is: Governance of New Technologies: the transformation of medicine, information technology and intellectual property. There are a number of focus subthemes, as follows:

1. how to define the scope of and protect fundamental rights such as privacy and freedom of association in the techno-world;
2. how to reconcile in the law conflicting moral positions around the use of human tissue in biotech innovation;
3. how to engineer the international IP system to better reflect aspirations for global equality; and
4. how to integrate intelligent technologies into existing social constructs and legal frameworks.

If you’d like to give a paper, submit your abstract by 15th November 2008. If you’d rather present by way of a poster (particularly encouraged for new scholars), please see this information and again, get your pitch in by 15th November.

The conference itself will take place in Edinburgh on March 29th to March 31st 2009. I have it on good authority that there will be a cèilidh at some stage.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) needs you. ORG is an extremely impressive British-based NGO that punches above its weight and is at an important moment in its development now, and I’m writing this post to encourage you to get involved.

In just three short years ORG has effected real policy change on a number of issues, from copyright reform to e-voting. But threats to our liberties are not subsiding, they are increasing, from unchecked snooping by advertisers and bureaucrats to the entertainment industry’s war on online freedoms. From July to December this year, we are working to double the amount of financial support we receive from individuals so ORG is ready and able to meet these threats.

Although I’ve known some of the people involved in ORG throughout my doctoral studies (and even had the pleasure of attending a reception the group hosted in its early days up in Edinburgh, September 2006 I think), I hadn’t joined - I kept an eye on things through the mailing list and occasionally joined in a campaign. (I was a member of Digital Rights Ireland though). Now, having moved to the UK, I’m delighted to be joining ORG and offering my support. I strongly recommend that you do so too, starting with one of the steps below.

• Join and support ORG. During the ORG-GRO campaign, the intention is to increase the membership base and raise 1,500 x £5 monthly subscriptions. There’s even a league table for current members who bring their friends into the organisation. Which is an excellent idea. But if you’re reading this, whether you’re a friend or a foe, please follow the link and consider getting involved. If you do so before the end of October, the interim target of 1,000 can be hit. Your Internet needs you.
• Director Becky Hogge is moving on and applications are sought for this position.
• Read the September 2008 update
• Apply to join the ORG Board, particularly if you have experience of chairing or fundraising, though all applications are welcome
• Join the discussion list and contribute your knowledge and expertise to various campaigns.
• See that widget in the sidebar? Add it to your blog or website now. Or there’ll be trouble.

Tags: Cyberlaw, digitalrights, openrightsgroup, org

Reports on two interesting conferences in recent weeks (not attended by this blogger but worth following up):

For great UK and international listings on the IP side of things, the frequently updated IPKat listings are your best bet. They even mark the freebies in a different colour…

Tags: copyright, ipkat, scl