Course Resources Archive

This module will introduce students to the basic legal aspects of media and music management.  It will include an introduction to the English legal system, to the law of contracts and to copyright and licensing.

Sources and classification of English law; the essentials of contract law, including formation of contracts, contractual terms (including equality of bargaining power), exclusion clauses, discharge and remedies, with specific reference to music and media contracts; an introduction to copyright law, focusing on copyright protection for songwriters, musicians, performers and sound recordings; moral rights, performance rights and copyright as applied in the digital communications era, as well as the role of collection agencies; an introduction to other intellectual property rights which apply to the music and media industries, such as trade marks and rights to domain names; specific legal issues relating to licensing in the music and media industries.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1. Understand the distinctions between different types of law and identify various sources of UK law;

2. Understand the essential elements of a binding contract and identify any vitiating factors affecting a contract; analyse specific terms of music and media-related contracts;

3. Understand the basic principles of the law on copyright, evaluate the way in which copyright protects a variety of creative works and the contemporary context of copyright and its relationship to a changing media environment;

4. Analyse straightforward factual situations in the relevant area of law, so as to identify relevant facts and issues,

5. Apply appropriate legal rules and reach a solution; undertake a critical case study and prepare a written analysis using basic legal terminology with reasonable accuracy;

6. Demonstrate skills of research using primary and secondary legal sources, read and accurately summarise reported cases and primary legislation.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.