Business transactions, foreign investments and technological advancements in the past decade have led to an increasingly global world and a smaller place to do international business in.
The relationship between law and rapidly emerging technologies, one being information and communications technology (ICT), is ever more dynamic in this technologically transformed global context, but what are the prospects for law?
ICT has become a transforming force in society and the economy, making the law that governs it practical and academically relevant.
The market for IT products and services is international. Therefore, adopting a comparative approach to the legal issues involved is imperative.
Furthermore, together with IT products and services, intellectual property rights are nowadays potentially valuable assets, making it important to look at ownership, commercialisation and value protection through dispute resolution and the licensing of patents and know-how, trademarks and copyright, as well as hybrid areas such as merchandising.
Familiarising with the law applicable to these assets can only work as a key instrument of innovation policy.
As Europe aims to be the most competitive information-based society, Malta aims to be a showcase of a model information society and economy.
In the future, Malta should be considered as the place from where ICT services and products are delivered in a holistic and integrated fashion, with all the right training, research and development.
The Smart Island strategy envisaged by the government aims to provide for Malta an excellent external ICT environment which meets international best-practice standards.
As a result of this vision, Malta needs to become one of the best prepared countries when it comes to the legislative and regulatory framework for ICT.
In a world where financial success comes from innovation and research, Malta must be in a position to promise investors that their business ventures are successful and well-managed.
Surely, adopting the Smart Island strategy means that Malta needs to be equipped with the latest technological infrastructure.
However, technology does not work on its own – we also need to offer a highly skilled workforce and top support services.
It is not simply a matter of having as many IT resources as everyone else. Our IT-related educational set-up in this sector is slowly growing, albeit lacking in certain areas, especially in functions supporting the ICT sector, such as specialised legal and consultancy services.
Attracting women to ICT is another challenge, as training is predominantly taken up by men.
Applying for an LLM programme focusing on electronic communications law has helped extend my horizons and obtain exposure to different concepts while also consolidating my legal proficiency and developing strong sector knowledge, including technical and analytical skills in the principles and applications of the law.
My studies in communications law helped me better understand the key elements and policy drivers in the regulatory framework governing the provision of telecommunications, networks and services in the UK, US, Europe and at an international level.
However, electronic communications law in isolation is not sufficient to address the challenges posed by technological developments.
In this regard, it was fascinating to examine the laws applicable to different IT products and services, including those relating to copyright, databases, patents, software licensing and the outsourcing of IT-related operations, especially when considering that the markets for such products and services are international.
Furthermore, in an ICT environment one cannot but be intrigued by the inherently challenging character of the internet.
The borderless nature of the internet and the possibility to transmit information quickly on a global basis has raised difficult questions of state jurisdiction and regulation as well as other areas of law, like IP protection, privacy and content regulation.
My LLM dissertation on ‘Is the cloud a safe haven for information?’ focused on cloud computing, its benefits and challenges.
Cloud computing refers to an information technology technique that enables individuals and businesses to outsource computing capabilities to service providers, through which they can access a number of computing resources such as networks, servers, storage and a variety of applications over the internet.
If used correctly and with the necessary safeguards, cloud computing technology offers numerous benefits to its users.
However it also poses significant challenges – one being that of data protection and security – as cloud computing entails the virtual storage and processing of data by third party service providers.
This challenge is particularly relevant to service providers wishing to provide cloud computing services as well as companies intending to embrace and invest in cloud computing.
Additionally, we also have the individuals whose data would be stored on the cloud, and moreover, we must not forget national regulators whose duty is precisely that of ensuring that the processing of data is carried out in accordance with the applicable data protection rules.
Knowing more about ICT law and cloud computing services together with data protection implications emanating from the use of such services is vital today, particularly in Malta, since we are working on adopting the Smart Island strategy.
Dr Desira’s LLM studies were partially funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (Malta). This scholarship is part-financed by the EU – European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life’.