Postgraduate Course: The Law of Advertising and Commercial Speech (LAWS11375)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In substantive terms, students will be introduced to the role of law and regulation relating to advertising and commercial speech. They will be encouraged to think critically about the social, political and economic impact of advertising and the role of law in shaping this field. They will explore the human rights dimension and the public and private interests that underpin advertising law and regulation. The course will consider the interplay of self-regulation and statutory regulation and the role of EU law in shaping domestic rules. Students will also be encouraged to think about how rules are enforced and jurisdiction in an increasingly integrated international marketplace.
Advertising plays an important role in driving sales and providing consumer information, it has also been one of the main bases for funding the mass media. Advertising continues to evolve, however, and there are increasing concerns about surreptitious and 'native' advertising and the way in which information on consumers is aggregated and sold. In an increasingly online sales environment - who can we trust and what role should international organisations, states - and industry - play in protecting individuals and consumers?
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| Course description |
An indication of the structure of the course is as follows:
I The fundamentals
1. Introduction - What is advertising? An international and comparative legal perspective.
2. Advertising and the human rights framework
3. Advertising and the European legal framework
II A Closer Look at Key Regulatory Goals: Protecting Consumers and Competitors
4. Misleading advertising and consumer protection
5. Comparative Advertising and Passing off
6. Reading week
III The regulation of online marketing - some emerging issues
7. Digital Marketing and Behavioural Advertising I
8. Digital Marketing and Behavioural Advertising II
9. Digital Marketing and Political Advertising
10. Digital Marketing and Tackling Market Power
11. Remedies and Course Review
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There will be two summative assessments for this course:«br /»
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1. A group exercise on a topic to be chosen from four options indicated in week one. This will be worth 20% of the marks and all group members will receive the same mark. Students will be expected to work together to prepare a video presentation of no more than fifteen minutes on one of the set topics, accompanied by up to six powerpoint slides. They should also prepare a supporting written handout of no more than two sides of A4, detailing key issues, findings and suggested reading materials for those watching the video to take away with them. Students will be expected to manage the production of these various outputs and each component of the exercise-video presentation, powerpoints and handouts - will contribute to a single, overall final grade. The videos are to be submitted in week eight of the course.«br /»
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2. An essay on a topic of the student's choice, relating to the subject matter of the course. This will be worth the remaining 80% of the marks. The essay is to be no longer than 4,000 words long (excluding footnotes and bibliography). The essay is not to be on any of the topics presented for the group exercises but may be on a topic addressed in their formative exercise.«br /»
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| Feedback |
Each course will provide the opportunity for at least one piece of formative assessment with associated feedback. This will be provided within an appropriate timescale to enable students to learn from this prior to the summative assessment.
Each student will be allocated a case, article or policy issue for a designated week at the start of the course and will be expected to write a short summary and evaluation of no more than one and a half sides of A4 paper on that topic, including also at least three citations to academic standards. They will be asked to reflect on how they have used and incorporated other academic and policy literature, again in light of academic professional standards. The written summary should be posted on the course discussion forum by 12.00 the day before the relevant seminar. The written briefs will relate to discussion in that week¿s seminar, presenting an opportunity for students to further share their research orally with the class. Further details will be given at the start of the course. Written feedback will be given on the formative posts, on the group presentations and the final essays.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- draw on relevant legal materials and use these effectively to develop their legal reasoning;
- understand the application of the law in its wider social, economic and political context;
- evaluate and criticise the law, using a variety of legal, policy-based, and theoretical arguments;
- carry out legal research in the field, in part so that the knowledge and understanding gained may be applied and adapted in future; and
- draw on learned transferable skills: (a) communication skills, oral and in writing; (b) intellectual skills, of collecting, organising, evaluating, synthesising and presenting material and arguments; (c) general skills, in managing time, working independently, and taking responsibility for their own work; (d) skills of co-operation and planning within a group to produce a professional oral presentation
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Reading List
Key texts include:
Ulf Bernitz and Caroline Heide-Jorgensen (eds) Marketing and Advertising Law in a Process of Harmonisation (Oxford: 2017)
S. Weatherill, EU Consumer Law and Policy (Elgar: 2013),
Giles Crown, Advertising Law and Regulation (Second Ed. Bloomsbury Professional: 2010)
Jan Oster, European and International Media Law (CUP: 2017), chapter 5
Barendt, Bosland, Craufurd Smith, Hitchens, Media Law: Text, Cases and Materials, (Pearson, 2014), chapter 6
Considerable material is also available online, in particular on the Europa and Advertising Standards Authority website.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and Understanding:
- Students should attain a good understanding of the interplay between domestic and international law in the advertising field, as well as the role of industry self- regulation.
- They should be familiar with the role of the EU and Council of Europe in setting human rights standards in the field.
- They will understand the major challenges facing regulators as a result of digitisation and behavioural advertising and the steps being taken to address market power.
Skills and Abilities in Research and Enquiry:
The course aims to further develop students' abilities and skills in respect of:
- Use of legal materials and legal reasoning;
- Appreciation of law in its context;
- Evaluation and criticism of law;
- Legal research and intellectual skills of collecting, organising, evaluating and synthesising material and arguments
- Working with others to produce a collaborative video and related guides.
Development of these skills will be supported through the formative and group exercises and the final essay. Students will be encouraged to engage in oral discussion and critical evaluation of their research in the seminars and in written discussion on the forum.
Skills and Abilities in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy:
- Students will be set reading on a weekly basis and asked to actively reflect on this reading. The final set essay will require self-directed research and enquiry. They will thus be required to develop their skills in managing time, working independently and taking responsibility for their own work.
Skills and Abilities in Communication:
- Students will be expected to develop their communication skills, oral and writing - through preparing course assignments and in engaging actively in seminar discussions and on the course forum. They will have an opportunity to present their ideas in the group video. Feedback will be given on these skills.
Skills and Abilities in Personal Effectiveness:
- Students will be encouraged to develop their skills in managing time, working independently, and taking responsibility for their own work.
-Students will be expected to work together in preparing their group video presentation and thus to collaborate in allocating tasks and engaging constructively with their peers.
Technical/practical Skills:
- Students will gain a good factual knowledge of key principles and regulatory techniques in a rapidly developing commercial sector.
- They will learn how to apply this knowledge to concrete problems, taking into account the technical and political context, through problem-based discussions in the seminars. - They will be encouraged to communicate their findings clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, and will gain experience of writing and presenting different kinds of content for a range of audiences.
These skills will be useful for subsequent employment, whether that be in professional practice, working for civil society or regulatory bodies or in industry. |
| Keywords | Advertising,Commercial Speech,Data Protection,Online Games,Freedom of Expression; |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Rachael Craufurd-Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 2061
Email: r.c.smith@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Bethan Walters
Tel: (0131 6)50 2386
Email: bethan.walters@ed.ac.uk |
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