Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law

Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law
Established 1997
President Prof. Dr. Thomas Hoeren
Staff 40
Location Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia,  Germany
Address Leonardo-Campus 9, 48149 Münster, Germany
Website ITM Web-site

Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law or ITM (German: Institut für Informations-, Telekommunikations- und Medienrecht) is a research & educational organisation located in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. All major research projects conducted by ITM are ordered by European Commission. Scientific Council of the Institute is presented by Prof. Dr.Dr. Gunnar Bender, Wilhelm Berneke, Jon Bing, Santiago Cavanillas, Herbert Fiedler, Heinz Lothar Grob, Fritjof Haft, Bernt Hugenholtz, Hans Jarass, Wolfgang Kilian, Miriam Meckel, Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker, Ursula Nelles and other prominent scientists.

Contents

Research objective

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 content the representation of information, telecommunication and media law in academic teaching and further training. The institute members busy themselves barycentricly with the application possibilities of interactive media in academic teaching and further topics of legal information.

The law of information, telecommunication and media 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.

Area of researches

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:

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.

Scientific activities

Current research projects

Completed research projects

Links

References

  1. ^ Official Web-site of the ERCIS project
  2. ^ IPR-Helpdesk
  3. ^ Official Website of the RESPECT project