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Welcome
Welcome to the May 2011 JISC Legal newsletter.
April’s ‘Recording Lectures and Screencasts’ webcast met with a very positive response. Thanks to everyone who tuned-in, submitted questions via our website and participated in our live Twitter chat. You can now access this lively panel discussion for free in captioned, bite-sized segments here.
Our newsletter has three sections:
1. Legal News Digest for FE and HE
2. New JISC Legal Publications
3. Upcoming JISC Legal Events
Visit our website regularly for up-to-the-minute news, our full range of publications, our events diary and information on how to access our three-day turnaround legal enquiry service.
News
Here’s the latest news round-up:
- Amazon’s “Stormy Cloud” highlights risks…
- Email "spammers" could be fined up to £500,000…
- New animated video on FOI rights…
- Now available: Research Information Management Infokit…
- New EU survey exposes social networking risks…
- Failed black out results in government information leaks…
- New e-learning module sheds light on copyright…
- New equality obligations now in force for FE and HE…
Amazon’s “Stormy Cloud” highlights risks
Amazon’s recent failure in its web hosting system highlights risks for institutions to consider when using computer services based in the cloud. Several client websites were unavailable while Amazon diagnosed and fixed the problem. The failure shows the necessity of using a reliable provider with resource to ensure issues are dealt with promptly and that contract conditions are in place to deal with any resulting claims due to loss of service provision. More information and link to the technical explanation for the failure is available here. Queen Mary, University of London's series of research papers on cloud computing (including a relevant Terms of Service Analysis for Cloud Providers) is available here.
Email "spammers" could be fined up to £500,000
New powers are coming into force that give the Information Commissioner' Office (ICO) the ability to impose fines of up to £500,000 for the most serious incidents of organisations sending unwanted marketing emails to individuals. Other changes include new rules for websites using cookies and similar technologies. The changes come into force as part of amendments to the UK’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) on 25 May 2011. The ICO will be responsible for regulating compliance with these new requirement and will be issuing guidance to reflect the changes that are being introduced. Further details on the ICO website.
New animated video on FOI rights
The Scottish Information Commissioner has launched an online "one-stop shop" for those looking for guidance on their freedom of information (FOI) rights, and how to ask for information from Scotland's public authorities. The new section on the website contains a short animated guide to FOI, which tells the story of an FOI request from beginning to end. Not only can visitors to the Commissioner's website view this new "infographic", but it can be downloaded free of charge - so public authorities including colleges and universities can make use of it on their own websites to help members of the public understand their rights. This may reduce the number of people who need to contact the college or university with basic enquiries about their rights. The animated guide can be downloaded here. Other key info can be accessed here.
Now available: Research Information Management Infokit
JISC infoNet has published (18/04/2011) a new infokit on Research Information Management. As well as seeking to develop a better understanding of RIM systems and the process of building a business case, it also aims to offer an online resource to provide support and guidance for institutions considering further development of their RIM systems. Key components of this resource are the case studies and project experiences of institutions seeking to improve RIM, which detail the experiences of institutions (good and bad) and provide information on good practice and lessons learned. The infokit is available here.
New EU survey exposes social networking risks
UK colleges with younger students may be interested in a recent EU survey which states that 77% of 13-16 year olds have a social networking profile and 25% say their profile is open to the public. This suggests that many are still unaware of basic privacy risks. Institutions have both legal and statutory duties to safeguard the welfare of all learners when making use of ICT. There are a variety of legal issues to consider within the e-Safety context, including: cyberbullying, harassment, defamation, hosting liability and data protection. JISC Legal has information available about this here. The press release (IP/11/479) and links to the Digital Agenda for Europe are available from the Europa website.
Failed black out results in government information leaks
Failings in the technical process of redacting sensitive material from documents before publishing online resulted in the blacked out portions being visible if copied and pasted into another document. The Daily Telegraph report states that the information was being published in line with freedom of information legislation. Universities and colleges often have to redact certain information which is exempt from disclosure (e.g. personal data) when responding to an FOI request for information. This is a reminder for FOI officers to check that their technical processes will not result in inadvertent release of such information in breach of data protection laws. The report and link to the Daily Telegraph is on the BBC website.
New e-learning module sheds light on copyright
A new e-learning module from the Strategic Content Alliance is now available, dealing with intellectual property rights in universities, colleges and other public bodies. The module aims to aid understanding of the implications and roles of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and licensing. It is divided into six learning objects with a range of supporting case studies, video and animation. Completion of the module should better enable the confident creation, exploitation and management of digital content, using a risk managed approach. Further details and a link to the module is available here on this website. JISC Legal also offers OER resources and support on IPR. Access them here.
New equality obligations now in force for FE and HE
The general Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010 for the public sector came into force in April and placed three broad requirements on the public sector, including colleges and universities. Basically there is now a general duty placed on colleges and universities to pay regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and foster good relations in the areas of age, disability, race sex and other protected characteristics under the Act (s149). This general duty will be complemented by specific duties which aim to aid institutions in compliance with the general duty but these have yet to be finalised and are not expected to be in place until later in 2011. The EHRC has information on the Equality Duty. The Equality Challenge Unit has a paper on the public sector equality duty for HE in England:
Publications
The latest JISC Legal publications freely available to view or download via our website are:
Copyright Law Essentials
A direct, point-by-point guide on copyright law and its application to Further and Higher Education (FE and HE). The full Essentials guide is available here.
Intellectual Property Law Essentials
A direct, point-by-point guide on intellectual property law and its application to Further and Higher Education (FE and HE). The full Essentials guide is available here.
Events
This month, we’ll be participating at the following event:
CILIP Executive Briefing on eCopyright (19/5/11, Manchester)
Our Service Manager, Jason Miles-Campbell, will be speaking at this briefing event. Aimed particularly at librarians and archivists, it will cover the key copyright and licensing issues affecting those dealing with the provision of open digital access. The event will include practical workshops and a panel-led Q&A. Further details can be found on the CILIP website.
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Further Information
JISC Legal, University of Strathclyde, Alexander Turnbull Building, 155 George Street,
Glasgow G1 1RD
t: 0141 548 4939 f: 0141 548 4216 w: http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk
JISC Legal is hosted by the University of Strathclyde, a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC015263.
Details of what's on offer from JISC Advance can be found here.
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