Taylor Swift is the subject of a new seminar course, Law 397-002, titled “Law (Taylor’s Version)” offered by Queen’s Law. In addition to the artist’s dominance over the global pop music landscape, Swift is a bona fide economic powerhouse. Her recent Eras Tour has become a multiple billion-dollar franchise that has bolstered local economies, boosted consumer spending, and is attributed to bridging the United States economy through recessionary pressures in the fourth-quarter of 2023.
With a consumer brand identity that exceeds some of the largest global companies, her accelerated growth in the entertainment industry has also been defined by high-profile legal disputes, ranging from defamation, copyright and trademark infringement to harassment, intellectual property, artist compensation, and more. Suffice to say, there is an extensive body of contemporary case studies to be examined, particularly for those interested in pursuing business and entertainment law.
It is from that vantage point that Associate Dean Mohamed Khimji, the David Allgood Professor in Business Law and Director of the Queen’s Business Law Program, set about developing the new course.
“What makes the course unique is that the case studies are exclusively from Taylor Swift’s various interactions with the law during the course of her career,” Khimji says. “From removing her music from Spotify, the decision to re-record her first six albums, and protecting her name and brand identity from unauthorized commercial use, she is an emblematic figure whose legal case studies are a direct reflection of the rapidly changing entertainment law and new media landscape.”
Swift has been at the epicentre of a changing industry. The way consumers engage with music through online streaming platforms, social media, multi-media concert experiences, and more, are transforming the entertainment industry, and the legal frameworks that govern them. In this immersive seminar course starting in September 2024, upper-year JD students will take a deep dive into the art and science of business law, guided through the context of one of the world’s largest industries and its biggest performers.
The prospect of combining substantive, theory-based learning with engaging, contemporary subject-matter is quite compelling from the Faculty’s perspective. “We endeavour to train our emerging leaders on a rapidly changing legal sector, from the influence of AI to climate change legislation, healthcare and information privacy, and the regulatory systems at play,” says Dean Colleen M. Flood. “The Swift business enterprise is an excellent contemporary case study to explore the significant legal dimensions of copyright, contract, trademarks, defamation, privacy, personality/publicity rights, free expression, and more. This also builds on an outstanding roster of business law courses that sets Queen’s Law apart.”
Enrollment for Law (Taylor's Version) opens in July 2024 for the September semester. Queen’s Law also offers joint academic programs in business, including the JD program partnership with Smith’s Master of Business Administration (MBA), ranked the number one MBA program in Canada. Later this month, Queen’s Law is offering an AI & Law Certificate course for professionals that provides a practical understanding of how machine-based learning and generative AI are rapidly shaping legal operations in all aspects of Canadian society.