Lilian Edwards
Encyclopedia
Lilian Edwards is a UK academic and frequent speaker on issues of Internet law and intellectual property
. She is on the Advisory Board of the Open Rights Group
and the Foundation for Internet Privacy Research and is the Professor specialising in Internet law at the University of Strathclyde
in Glasgow.
, e-commerce and Internet law at undergraduate and postgraduate level since 1996 and been involved with law and artificial intelligence
(AI) since 1985.
She worked at Strathclyde University from 1986–1988 and Edinburgh University from 1989 to 2006. She became Chair of Internet Law at the University of Southampton
from 2006–2008, and then Professor of Internet Law at the University of Sheffield until late 2010, when she returned to Scotland to become Professor of E-Governance at Strathclyde University, while retaining close links with the renamed SCRIPT (AHRC Centre)
at Edinburgh. She also has close links with the Oxford Internet Institute
and the Web Science Trust.
She has co-edited (with Charlotte Waelde) three collections on Law and the Internet in 1997, 2000 and 2009. Her work in on-line consumer privacy won the Barbara Welberry Memorial Prize in 2004 for "the best solution to the problem of privacy and transglobal data flows". A collection of her essays, The New Legal Framework for E-Commerce in Europe was published in 2005. She is Associate Director, and was co-founder, of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Centre for IP and Technology Law (now SCRIPT). She has been a visiting scholar and invited lecturer to universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, China , Israel and Latin America. Edwards has served as a consultant
for the European Parliament
, the European Commission
, and the United Nations in the form of the OECD and WIPO, as well as for Google
and the software publishers Symantec
and McAfee
.
Edwards has also co-chaired GikII, a series of Europe
an workshops on the intersections between law, technology and popular culture
.. She has been a prominent voice in the debates around the controversial Digital Economy Act 2010 in the UK, and is also, as a specialist in data privacy law, concerned with the reform process of the EC Data Protection Directive. Other current areas of focus include Net censorship, cybersecurity and cyberwar , law and social networks such as Facebook, legal liability for robots, and what happens to digital assets after we die.
in 1988 on a joint platform with her friend Christina Lake; they had previously co-edited the fanzine This Never Happens.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
. She is on the Advisory Board of the Open Rights Group
Open Rights Group
The Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
and the Foundation for Internet Privacy Research and is the Professor specialising in Internet law at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in Glasgow.
Academic career
Edwards has taught information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, e-commerce and Internet law at undergraduate and postgraduate level since 1996 and been involved with law and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI) since 1985.
She worked at Strathclyde University from 1986–1988 and Edinburgh University from 1989 to 2006. She became Chair of Internet Law at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
from 2006–2008, and then Professor of Internet Law at the University of Sheffield until late 2010, when she returned to Scotland to become Professor of E-Governance at Strathclyde University, while retaining close links with the renamed SCRIPT (AHRC Centre)
SCRIPT (AHRC Centre)
SCRIPT is a Research Centre located at the School of Law in the University of Edinburgh dedicated to studying intellectual property and technology law. SCRIPT is formerly known as the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law. The Centre is funded by the UK Arts...
at Edinburgh. She also has close links with the Oxford Internet Institute
Oxford Internet Institute
The Oxford Internet Institute is a multi-disciplinary institute based at the University of Oxford, England, and housed in buildings owned by Balliol College, Oxford. It is devoted to the study of the societal implications of the Internet, with the aim of shaping research, policy and practice in...
and the Web Science Trust.
She has co-edited (with Charlotte Waelde) three collections on Law and the Internet in 1997, 2000 and 2009. Her work in on-line consumer privacy won the Barbara Welberry Memorial Prize in 2004 for "the best solution to the problem of privacy and transglobal data flows". A collection of her essays, The New Legal Framework for E-Commerce in Europe was published in 2005. She is Associate Director, and was co-founder, of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Centre for IP and Technology Law (now SCRIPT). She has been a visiting scholar and invited lecturer to universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, China , Israel and Latin America. Edwards has served as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, and the United Nations in the form of the OECD and WIPO, as well as for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and the software publishers Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
and McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
.
Edwards has also co-chaired GikII, a series of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an workshops on the intersections between law, technology and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.. She has been a prominent voice in the debates around the controversial Digital Economy Act 2010 in the UK, and is also, as a specialist in data privacy law, concerned with the reform process of the EC Data Protection Directive. Other current areas of focus include Net censorship, cybersecurity and cyberwar , law and social networks such as Facebook, legal liability for robots, and what happens to digital assets after we die.
Other Interests
Edwards was an active science fiction fan during the 1980s and 1990s, and won the TransAtlantic Fan FundTransAtlantic Fan Fund
The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as TAFF, was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, across the Atlantic.-History:...
in 1988 on a joint platform with her friend Christina Lake; they had previously co-edited the fanzine This Never Happens.