Course Listing

Entertainment Law
Last Updated Date:   8 June 2023


5 Units,  Semester 1

Course Description:
This course focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding popular icons in contemporary consumer culture and the world of entertainment. It examines the symbolic meanings of famous celebrity personalities, iconic brands, well-known fictional characters, popular books and movies, and how the law interacts with these entities. It provides a transnational perspective with an emphasis on cases from California (where Hollywood is located), New York (where numerous celebrities are resident and global entertainment conglomerates are headquartered) and the United Kingdom. This is not a course on entertainment law in Singapore, but the principles you learn could be relevant to Singapore law. It also does not aim to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of all the legal issues confronting the entertainment industries of movies, music, books and new media. It is just not possible in a 5-credit elective module taught in one semester.

With case studies ranging from Taylor Swift to Elvis Presley, Michael Jordan to Tiger Woods, Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons, Avatar to Star Wars, Blurred Lines to Somebody To Love, this course will cover a number of prominent causes of action in copyright, trademarks and right of publicity laws brought by celebrities and rights owners.

The top student of the course (based on the highest overall mark obtained) will receive the MediaCorp Prize in Entertainment Law valued at S$1000.

Course Convenor: Prof David Tan

Co-teacher(s): NA

Course Codes: LL4177V / LL5177V / LL6177V / LLJ5177V

Contact Hours: 3hr weekly seminar

Workload: 3 hours

Mode of Assessment: Class Participation - 20% & 6-Hr Take Home Exam - 80% [Release: Tue, 21 Nov 2023 (9am); Due: Tue, 21 Nov 2023 (3pm)]

Preclusions: Nil

Prerequisites: NUS Compulsory Core Law Curriculum or common law equivalent.

Examination Date: Different Mode of Examination

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