The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting bro ....The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting broadcast content to promote innovation in content production and distribution, while not restraining reasonable content uses nor hindering innovative consumer electronics. Australian policies should foster an innovative and diverse broadcasting sector to serve Australian public interests. The project promotes this vital objective.Read moreRead less
Optimising Industry-led Regulation for the Digital Platforms Era. This project aims to investigate how harms caused by digital platforms can be effectively prevented through co-regulation where industry develops rules enforced by a regulator. Widely used in the broader communications sector, ‘co-regulation’ remains chronically under-theorised and its effectiveness has never been adequately reviewed. Meanwhile, harms such as disinformation and violent content expand in both scale and impact. This ....Optimising Industry-led Regulation for the Digital Platforms Era. This project aims to investigate how harms caused by digital platforms can be effectively prevented through co-regulation where industry develops rules enforced by a regulator. Widely used in the broader communications sector, ‘co-regulation’ remains chronically under-theorised and its effectiveness has never been adequately reviewed. Meanwhile, harms such as disinformation and violent content expand in both scale and impact. This research will provide an evidential base for optimising co-regulation in the contemporary Australian communications environment, benefiting regulators seeking to meet public policy goals; consumers experiencing online harms; and platforms themselves, who might otherwise be subject to blunt regulatory tools.Read moreRead less
Amateur Hour: The Sociolegal Construction of Amateur Media. This project addresses Research Priority 3, specifically the priority goal of Promoting an Innovation Culture and Economy. The rise of amateur networked production is a highly significant transformation in Australia's cultural and media industries. Innovation policy provides incentives for the socially-optimal production of new works, but amateurs do not produce for commercial gain, and may not respond to commercial incentives of inte ....Amateur Hour: The Sociolegal Construction of Amateur Media. This project addresses Research Priority 3, specifically the priority goal of Promoting an Innovation Culture and Economy. The rise of amateur networked production is a highly significant transformation in Australia's cultural and media industries. Innovation policy provides incentives for the socially-optimal production of new works, but amateurs do not produce for commercial gain, and may not respond to commercial incentives of intellectual property. The project articulates motivations, incentive and conditions for amateur content production.Read moreRead less
Defamation and Privacy: Law, Media and Public Speech. This project investigates important recent legal changes in defamation and privacy, laws which can considerably limit public speech. It addresses the urgent need in law for a more sophisticated understanding and evaluation of the practices of media professionals. It will assist lawyers and judges apply the changed laws, contribute to scheduled reviews of legislation, assist publications and journalists deal with risks of legal liability, deve ....Defamation and Privacy: Law, Media and Public Speech. This project investigates important recent legal changes in defamation and privacy, laws which can considerably limit public speech. It addresses the urgent need in law for a more sophisticated understanding and evaluation of the practices of media professionals. It will assist lawyers and judges apply the changed laws, contribute to scheduled reviews of legislation, assist publications and journalists deal with risks of legal liability, develop critical academic and legal debates about the media, and clarify the parameters of lawful public speech. It promotes better legal understanding of popular media forms, which have key roles in contemporary economies and public debate.Read moreRead less
Defamation Law in Context: Australian and US News Production Practices and Public Debate. Legal and media commentators claim Australian defamation law 'chills' media speech and limits public debate, especially compared to the US. This project examines how defamation risks are considered in media production practices under differing legal, institutional and social contexts in Australia and the US. It responds to important defamation law developments and media transformations. The project will: ....Defamation Law in Context: Australian and US News Production Practices and Public Debate. Legal and media commentators claim Australian defamation law 'chills' media speech and limits public debate, especially compared to the US. This project examines how defamation risks are considered in media production practices under differing legal, institutional and social contexts in Australia and the US. It responds to important defamation law developments and media transformations. The project will:
- Produce qualitative data about media news production practices and products in Australia and the US.
- Use the data to evaluate the role of defamation law in the media's contribution to public debate, and argue for optimal reforms to Australian defamation law.Read moreRead less
The Media and ASEAN Transitions: Defamation Law, Journalism and Public Debate in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. This project will examine defamation law, journalism and public debate in three core members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It will focus on a legal issue, defamation, which is central to the Australian and regional media's potential for improving public and private sector governance, and promoting domestic and regional understandi ....The Media and ASEAN Transitions: Defamation Law, Journalism and Public Debate in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. This project will examine defamation law, journalism and public debate in three core members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It will focus on a legal issue, defamation, which is central to the Australian and regional media's potential for improving public and private sector governance, and promoting domestic and regional understanding, at a time when independent media speech has great value in relation to trade, security and development. When risks of transnational defamation liability are increasing, it will assist the Australian media's coverage of three pivotal countries in the region and substantially develop the academic understanding of defamation law's effects on media content.Read moreRead less
Entertainment rights in the age of the franchise: a reappraisal of personality rights under Australian intellectual property laws. Global entertainment industry practice is to assert broad rights in creative entertainment concepts and characters. There is huge global merchandising potential for cultural products, as demonstrated by The Wiggles, Harry Potter and Pokemon. In the US, the UK, Japan and Korea there have been developments to enhance the protection of character and personality rights. ....Entertainment rights in the age of the franchise: a reappraisal of personality rights under Australian intellectual property laws. Global entertainment industry practice is to assert broad rights in creative entertainment concepts and characters. There is huge global merchandising potential for cultural products, as demonstrated by The Wiggles, Harry Potter and Pokemon. In the US, the UK, Japan and Korea there have been developments to enhance the protection of character and personality rights. However there is no current study of the status of the entertainment franchise under Australian intellectual property law. With Australian imports of cultural products at an all-time high and with local productions increasingly geared towards worldwide audiences, this study critically evaluates how Australian law fits with the realities of the global entertainment marketplace.Read moreRead less
Islam, Law and the State in the Philippines. Using the Philippines as a case study, the project plans to offer insights into a question that is of global significance but also of direct relevance to Australia: how Muslim minorities use sharî’a in their search for legitimacy and identity and the role of conflict in that process. It also plans to explore their opposition to the legal systems of modern nation states. The project aims to provide a thorough contemporary description of both the state ....Islam, Law and the State in the Philippines. Using the Philippines as a case study, the project plans to offer insights into a question that is of global significance but also of direct relevance to Australia: how Muslim minorities use sharî’a in their search for legitimacy and identity and the role of conflict in that process. It also plans to explore their opposition to the legal systems of modern nation states. The project aims to provide a thorough contemporary description of both the state system for the application of Islamic law in the Philippines and alternative systems developed by Muslim minorities who have used violence in their efforts to secede from that state, and have threatened regional security.Read moreRead less
Building an intellectual property system: The Indonesian experience. This project aims to provide an independent assessment of the development of the Indonesian intellectual property system over the past 30 years. Economic theory suggests pathways to innovation and ‘tipping points’ in intellectual property (IP) development. This project plans to explore the introduction and operation of IP in Indonesia as a typical example for middle-income developing countries. It plans to analyse hundreds of c ....Building an intellectual property system: The Indonesian experience. This project aims to provide an independent assessment of the development of the Indonesian intellectual property system over the past 30 years. Economic theory suggests pathways to innovation and ‘tipping points’ in intellectual property (IP) development. This project plans to explore the introduction and operation of IP in Indonesia as a typical example for middle-income developing countries. It plans to analyse hundreds of court decisions that have recently become available, as well as the implementing laws and institutions supporting IP. It aims to show the bargaining processes about the future of the system between the government and foreign investors as well as citizens and between different institutions, thereby providing valuable information to Australian businesses and the government.Read moreRead less
Reimagining Judging in International Criminal Courts: A Gendered Approach. This project focuses on a significant gap in International Criminal Court research: the contribution of judges to the ICCs poor conviction record for sexual and gender-based (SGB) crimes and their application of gender-sensitive judging in general. Significantly, it aims to provide new knowledge for judges, legal experts, and scholars to improve accountability for SGB crimes and for adopting a gender-sensitive approach to ....Reimagining Judging in International Criminal Courts: A Gendered Approach. This project focuses on a significant gap in International Criminal Court research: the contribution of judges to the ICCs poor conviction record for sexual and gender-based (SGB) crimes and their application of gender-sensitive judging in general. Significantly, it aims to provide new knowledge for judges, legal experts, and scholars to improve accountability for SGB crimes and for adopting a gender-sensitive approach to adjudication. Drawing on judicial interviews and on national court analysis, it will produce a groundbreaking book reimagining ICC cases through a feminist judgement approach and a provide valuable online toolbox for judges and academics. It will advance Australia's commitment to gender justice internationally.
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