Law (Space Law) LLM
1 Year Full-Time | September Start

In this module you will develop a critical understanding of UK and European Law governing intellectual property rights. You will examine intellectual property rights in a variety of international and domestic contexts. You will look at both common law and statutory rules. This detailed content of the module includes the following topics: (1) the nature of IP rights, (2) copyright and related rights, (3) Trademarks, (4) Designs, (5) Patents, (6) Confidentiality. These topics will all be discussed within both a theoretical context and also in respect of practical scenarios that are drawn from work-based practice.

This module offers a critical introduction to legal research methods. It is designed to ensure that you will be able to confidently embark on legal research on your Masters programme whatever your academic background or jurisdiction. Your lectures are designed to refresh and develop your understanding of legal research techniques, referencing and evaluating sources. In your workshops you will be provided with opportunities to undertake and obtain feedback upon a series of legal research and writing tasks, thus enabling you to develop critical understanding of what it meant by effective legal research, and how you yourself can become an effective legal researcher.

In this module you will draw on your skills and knowledge acquired from the taught elements of the LLM branch specialism and will develop and refine these in the context of a self-chosen area of independent specialist study. You will develop; (1) your understanding and use of legal research techniques, (2) An ability to critically analyse and evaluate legal data, (3) the ability to handle complex legal material systematically and creatively including material at the forefront of the field of study, (4) a conceptual understanding of the research topic, (5) skill at showing a systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical awareness of current legal issues, (6) the ability to communicate legal information, arguments and conclusions within accepted academic conventions.

This module provides an introduction to the global nature of three distinct but interwoven areas of the space, cyber and telecommunications industries. The dominant consideration in all three of these environments are economic although they all have significant military dimensions. The three areas are all, in some way, contingent or connected to each other. They are also both dependent on and drivers of new technological and engineering advances. This module will provide an understanding of the fundamental ways in which they are regulated, coupled with an appreciation of the key themes that emerge in their on-going development.
The module covers the following areas:
1. Shared themes in the Cyber, Space and Telecoms global industry.
2. An introduction to the military applications of Cyber, Space and Telecoms.
3. Threats to Space and telecoms from asymmetric cyber-attacks.
4. The role of space and telecoms in global navigation industry.
5. The changing face of Broadcasting in the new space, cyber and telecoms era.
6. Role of the ITU (i) Regulation of Telecoms.
7. Role of the ITU (ii) Regulating Space and the Internet.
8. Technology shaping the law: New developments in Cyber, Space and Telecoms.

In this module you will develop a critical understanding of the law relating to the Internet. You will acquire the knowledge and understanding of the following: the general principles of cyber law, the technological fundamentals of the Internet of Things, the features of contracts regarding smart devices or negotiated by them, the legal regimes that consumers can use to bring a complaint regarding faulty smart devices, the privacy and security risks in the Internet of Things, the impact of new technologies on some traditional tort principles, the implications of these new technologies for patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyright.

In this module you will learn to critically evaluate the development of the law relating to the operation of autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and robotics. As these systems become more ubiquitous, legal frameworks which cater for human decision-making, will come under increasing scrutiny as human interaction is replaced by autonomous decision making based on machine learning. Areas you will study include: Conceptualising Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, Machine Learning and a new legal paradigm, The Ethical Challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence, Legal informatics and the robot lawyer, The Internet Economy and AI, Regulating Autonomous systems in transport (i) Self Driving Vehicles, Regulating Autonomous systems in transport (ii) Drones & Autonomous, Regulating Autonomous systems in transport (iii) Autonomous ships and sea transport, The Rise of Killer Robots: the regulation of autonomous weapons systems, Space-based AI systems.

This module will provide you with a detailed understanding of the way in which space exploration is governed on a national and international level. The module will examine the governance of traditional space activity: the development of satellite communications, military activity in space, the use of interplanetary probes to gain scientific data and also human spaceflight. You will also evaluate legal responses to the challenges posed by new developments such as space tourism, space mining and the increased environmental strain on the space environment.
The issues that will be explored include: Introducing International Space Law; The Outer Space Treaty & follow up treaties, Astropolitics, International Relations and Policy in Space, The Institutions of Space Administration, Environmental Space Law, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, Planetary Protection, Astronauts and Space Travellers and Tourism, Space Mining, National Space Legislation, Military Space Activity.
You will be encouraged to immerse yourself in the space environment and formative assessment will be by means of preparing blog posts for the module tutor’s blog The Legal Spaceman. There are also external blogs which encourage student submissions. There will be guest lectures by experts in the field of space exploration. Study on this module is predicated on an interest in wider issues surrounding space exploration. No prior knowledge of space law will be required. An awareness of international law will be useful but is not essential. This module complements other subjects offered at this stage in your programme and will also provide you with policy and international relations perspectives.