The reception of copyright in the English common law in the eighteenth century provides a unique opportunity to study the jurisprudential concept of property rights at a moment of change. While copyright, or to use the contemporary term, the "right of copy", had been in the process of development since the introduction of the printing press into England in 1476, it was not until 1709 that Parliament enacted the first copyright statute, the Statute of Anne 8 Anne, c. 19. Sixty years later in Millar v. Taylor 4 Burr 2303, 98 Er 202, the Court of King's Bench considered the nature and purpose of copyright for the first time. The case arose in the course of the "literary property debate", a commercial struggle between rival booksellers for predominance in the emerging book trade. This paper proceeds through a detailed study of the genesis and theoretical background of Millar v. Taylor to address two questions: (1) in what sense did copyright constitute a "new property" in the common law, and how did it contribute to a conceptual change in property rights; (2) how did English courts conceive of "authorship" during the evolution of copyright, and how, in turn, did copyright as it emerged from the literary property debate alter the role of the author ? The judgments of Justice Joseph Yates and of William Murray, Lord Mansfield, offered particular insights into each of these questions. Justice Yates, in dissent, perceived that copyright posed a challenge to traditional property theory, especially to arguments grounded in natural law. As its subject matter was the intangible of literary ideas and expression, he argued the need for limits to be imposed on copyright in the interests of the public domain. The property right could not be derived from value, as it was the right itself which created value. Lord Mansfield adopted a natural law approach, but located it largely in the personal, as opposed to proprietary, interests which copyright served. The author's interests in privacy and in controlling the product of his intellectual labour formed, for him, a principal justification for the property right. The paper explores these ideas, first, by giving a close reading to the precedent cited in Millar v. Taylor (1769), and tracing back through precedent cited therein to the roots of intellectual property in English law. Second, the insights of Justice Yates and Lord Mansfield are taken forward through subsequent developments in legal theory and copyright. In particular, the recognition, which followed Millar v. Taylor and vindicated Justice Yates' position, of copyright as a statutory property designed and limited by political choice is shown as characterising the leading theoretical approaches to property rights-- including utilitarian, Realist and critical approaches—which now predominate in jurisprudence. Further, Lord Mansfield's understanding of the dual purpose of copyright is examined in relation to a personhood justification of property, and in terms of the evolution of copyright as a property regime for protecting factual works of information, and fictional works of imagination. The paper endeavours to highlight both the concern for public domain and for personal interests of authors which had such significance in the early development of copyright. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

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As we enter the 21 st Century, individuals are faced with an enormous threat to privacy that affects almost every human being. Due to technological advances, virtually everyone will be influenced by the course that is set over the next few years concerning the dissemination of private information. The revolution of information technology resembles the Industrial Revolution in that parameters·are largely unknown and unregulated. In addition, the self-regulation of business presents a similar conflict between profit and public protection. Privacy guidelines that the legislature, judiciary, and industry establish in the early part of this century will affect humanity as the advent of labor laws did in the 20th Century. In this work, the threat to privacy, the problems associated with the control of information transfer, and the comprehensive European Union approach will be examined.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliography.

In January 2015, three terrorists killed 17 people in Paris. In a time in which fears of immigrants and Muslims are spread in Europe and right wing movements are gaining support, this event built a foundation for actors of centre right and right wing parties to use the attacks in their favor. The aim of this study was to investigate how French and German media reported on the attacks, which measures were suggested in response to the attacks by political actors and how media facilitated possible securitization moves. By conducting this case study for which French and German newspaper articles were collected through the database Lexis Nexis and analyzed through content and discourse analysis, a contribution to security studies was made. The analytical framework used, Securitization Theory with an integration of Framing Theory, proved valuable as it indicated that media, by framing the issues connected to the Paris Attacks in favor of securitizing actors, facilitated securitization moves. Securitizing actors were mainly centre right politicians in Germany and the French right wing party National Front. Furthermore, German newspaper articles on the attacks outnumbered French newspaper articles, indicating the high level of media attention to the key event. However, the role of Islam was mentioned in more French newspaper articles than it was the case in German newspapers. Overall, terrorism and Islam were portrayed as a threat to the referent objects of the West, its citizens and values, fostering an essentialist and dichotomist understanding of the West and Islam.

Thesis (doctoral)--Europa Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), 2008.

Thesis (M.S.)---University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed September 22, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-50)