The rapid development of information and communication technologies accelerated the changeover into a global information and knowledge society in the last years. Technical progress permits more and more to save, handle and process information without dependence on time, place or amount. The result is a coalescence of former separate economic sectors as computer technology, telecommunication and audio-visual media. The slogan “information highway” labels this new step in the process of industrial revolution. Notably the federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen faces incising economic structural changes drawing the corpus of its prosperity from traditional branches of industry such as coal and steel.
Europe has only just begun to think about a legal framework for the information society. The European Commission (EC) has published a set of green books dealing with the requirements of regulation in regard of exclusive spheres, such as the liberation of telecommunication networks or copyrights. In some purviews like the cross-frontier TV, the protection of data bases or data protection EC-directives are passed to unify national law. The EC takes a pan-European proceeding for necessary to obtain a leading position in global competition concerning information and telecommunication markets.
In Germany efforts are increasingly made to manage the legal problems coming along with the information society. It is most notably investigated if and in which extent conventional instruments of civil, criminal and administrative law are able to lead to appropriate solutions in the multimedia age. As far as the existing framework departing from the traditional distinction of individual and mass communication cannot guarantee adequate legal relief, possibilities for a timely regulation are sought. The telecommunication law, the law of telecommunication-services and the multi media treaty of the states can be cited as examples. The two last initiatives try to put the new online and internet jobs onto a save legal basis. In other sectors such as telecommunication law, it is reflected about the displacement of the sectored working special (administrative) law by trust and competition law.
The Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law (ITM) aims to explore the legal framework conditions of the information society. To learn from the experiences of other countries, comparative law is to be granted a special position. Furthermore, the tasks of the institute members embrace the representation of information, telecommunication and media law in academic teaching and further training. The institute members work on the application possibilities of interactive media in academic teaching and further topics of legal information.
The information, telecommunication and media law is a cross-section matter which cannot even approximately be covered by any of the traditional legal disciplines – civil, criminal and public law. The ITM therefore strives for interdisciplinary research and teaching activities. For that reason, the board of directors of the Institute is supposed to content each a professor for civil law, criminal law and public law. This institute structure is so far without archetype in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Information Law
Information law deals with legal problems arising from electronic data processing (EDP). Whereas formerly goods and services were in the main focus, today intangible assets like know-how, data collections, experience and ideas gain more and more economic importance. “Information Society” is a current term in order to describe our modern world where images, texts and sounds are linked in a digital way. No matter how significant information has become to our society, its legal classification is still open. Most notably in terms of civil law, we have great difficulties in determining the person certain data belong to as well as in defining the individual rights involved in that ownership. These issues serve as the basic approach concerning the department’s research activities.
Telecommunication Law
Research is especially required in the following fields:
- The right of way in terms of para. 50 and 57 TKG (German Telecommunications Act)
- Telecommunications business and consumer protection
- Competition and anti-trust law
Media Law
Media law comprises film and music law, more precisely legal issues of creation and utilisation of films and music. Particular emphasis is put on copyright aspects and legal problems in film and music distribution.
Informatics in Legal Profession
This area deals with changes in the legal professions (e.g. judges, lawyers on the private sector and those in public administration) due to the application of electronic data processing.
