2010 - ERCIS

University of Münster –
Institute for Information-, Telecommunication-, and Media Law (ITM)
20
About the Institution
The ITM is the leading Institute for
Information-, Telecommunication-,
and Media Law in Germany. The Institute’s
work aims to explore the
legal framework and underlying policies
of the information society with
a particular focus on “information”
as an economic and cultural good.
The Institute emphasizes the importance
of interdisciplinary work since
a proper understanding of the technological
or economic background is
a pre-requirement to successful regulation.
Many activities are carried out
in close cooperation with the faculty
of economics of the University of Münster.
In 2002, the ITM was appointed
the Competence Centre in Information-,
Telecommunication-, and Media
Law for North Rhine-Westphalia.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hoeren is a professor
of civil law at the University of
Münster and has been the director
of the ITM since 1997. Due to international
projects such as CONSENT,
LAPSI, IPR-Helpdesk, RESPECT and
ECLIP, Prof. Hoeren has become recognised
as a specialist in information
law throughout Europe.
Research Topics
Our research focuses on Information
Law, Telecommunication Law and Media
Law as well as related areas such
as Antitrust law and consumer protec-
tion. As Information,Telecommunication
and Media
law is characterized
as a cross-sectional
matter, it cannot
be fully covered by
any of the traditional
legal disciplines
alone. The ITM,
therefore, strives
for interdisciplinary
research and teaching
activities.
Current Research
Currently, the ITM is involved in
several EU-funded and national projects.
CONSENT (Consumer sentiment regarding
privacy on user generated
content services in the digital economy)
is an interdisciplinary research
project on the EU-level. CONSENT
aims to examine consumer sentiment
regarding privacy on user generated
content (UGC) services such
as Youtube, Facebook and MySpace
in the digital economy.
Within the LAPSI project (Legal Aspects
of Public Sector Information),
we explore the legal problems regarding
Public Sector Information.
LAPSI is also an EU-funded project.
The competence-centre for E-Learning
is part of the European Research
Centre for Information Systems
( ERCIS) of the University of Münster.
It is funded by the Federal Ministry of
Education and Research with a focus
on “New Media and Education”. The
aim of this project is the development
of a technology-driven model for the
organization, promotion and integration
of E-Learning-Projects at universities.
The Civil Law Department is in
charge of the issue “Legal Aspects of
E-Learning”. Principally, we turn our
attention to problems regarding data
protection and copyright in the field
of teaching at universities.
Moreover, the ITM is part of the German
Research Network (Deutsches
Forschungsnetz / DFN) that supports
communication and the exchange of
information between representatives
of science, research, education and
culture in national and international
networks. Increasingly, our DFNmembers
are being faced with issues
regarding to legal questions of liability,
telecommunications and data
protection. Therefore, the ITM functions
as a legal consultant in terms
of information and communication
services.
The ITM also hosts the Research
Centre for Industrial Property Rights,
which offers training and conducts
research activities in the sector of industrial
property rights.
Publications
Hoeren, T., Neurauter, S. (2010) IPTV
– Die wichtigsten Rechtsfragen aus
Sicht der Anbieter.
§