JJUA55066U Law, Science and Technology in the Information Society NOTE: This course is not offered in spring 2015.

Volume 2014/2015
Content

Intellectual property (IP) protection has been acknowledged as the most effective solution to the essential problem of creating incentives to innovate. The relevant laws are rather senior institutions; copyright dates back to 1709 and patents even as far as 1474.

 

Today, however, the regulation of innovation is more topical than ever. In the ‘digital society’ with its rapid pace of technological change and innovation, many questions have been raised, which are of high relevance for policy makers, companies and citizens. The European and many national legislators are therefore revisiting their laws in order to answer the questions: What are the legal tools that are needed to navigate through complexity and versatility of information, science and technology? How to make the existing instruments fit for the digital era?

 

This graduate course gives a comprehensive overview of current challenges in the information society from a legal perspective. It addresses current legal, regulatory and policy issues of intellectual property laws associated with innovation in science, Internet and related emerging technologies in the information society. The course has its foundations in the intellectual property framework but will touch upon related legal and interdisciplinary themes such as communication, Internet or privacy law, where appropriate. The course is divided into two major methodological parts:
 

I. Basic module

 The basic module aims at giving an extensive overview of basic concepts of intellectual property law in in the information society divided along traditional areas of law, whereby special emphasis is given to the European dimension. Additionally, this module will also give an overview of the challenges persistent in the traditional intellectual property regime such as issues of cross border trade, parallel import and exhaustion, or the intersections with competition law. The following themes will be covered in this first part:

 

  • Law and economics of intellectual property rights
  • Copyright and related rights
  • Patents and utility models
  • Trademarks and related rights

 

II. Advanced module

 The advanced module represents a phenomenological approach to the course subject and will give students the opportunity to study and discuss selected current cutting-edge issues at the intersection of law, science and technology. This part of the course enables students to tackle interesting and, occasionally, controversial cases, discuss and present divergent opinions on emerging issues and benefit from guest lectures and field trips. The themes cover internet technology and regulation, standard setting, IP business models and management, IPR and innovation, and include topics such as:

 

  • Content licensing (online music, open data, creative commons)
  • Internet governance, content regulation and filtering
  • 3D printing and legal issues
  • Standard setting and digital wars, FRAND
  • Patent trolls / business model and IPR management
  • Alternative methods for promoting innovation (e.g. open standard, open source, user-generated law etc.)

 

Methodology
 

The course is run in a 2-module mode, where the basic part serves as introduction to IP law and helps to prepare students for more advanced and comprehensive issues that are dealt with in the second part.

  • The limited use of law and economic as well as comparative perspectives is expected.

 

Specific activities
 

  • Presentations, discussions
  • Field trips as well as guest lectures


 

Learning Outcome


The goal of the course is to 1) provide students with comprehensive knowledge of basic concept of intellectual property laws, and to 2) present and analyze some current challenges and controversies of information society in legal context, where students will develop an in-depth familiarity with a subset of issues.

 

By the end of the course students should be able to:

  • Identify, describe and critically assess problems of IP protection, its scope and development in digital society
  • Analyse and critically discuss the relation between law, science and technology in the digital society
  • Reflect on possible creative solutions to abstract problems in a systematic and analytical manner

Evaluate the applicability of the traditional IP concept in emerging areas of technology

Identify, analyse and present relevant case law in the interdisciplinary context of the subject
 

1) Knowledge

All students should acquire knowledge about

  • the content, relevance and interrelation of specific legal disciplines, as well as basic technological, scientific and business aspects that are of particular importance to digital society
  • the basic legal rules concerning the protection of intellectual property in the digital society

 

2) Skills

All students should acquire skills in

  • presenting & explaining solutions and legal arguments in a systematic and coherent manner that demonstrates overview, as well as in-depth knowledge and understanding of specific pharmaceutical law issues.
  • identifying specific problems and legal arguments on the basis of complex material.

 

Master students should acquire additional skills in

  • discussing the pros and cons of applying the various disciplines/solutions within complex problem areas.
  • making academically reasoned arguments and decisions for different solutions including a critical weighing of the legal arguments and choices. 3) Competences All students should acquire competences in
  • Critically reflect and put into perspective the interdisciplinary differences and similarities of the areas involved.
  • Analyze to what extent identified problems can be solved in practice by exploiting diverse legal disciplines and arguments. Master students should acquire additional competences in

combining different academic approaches, such as legal methods of interpretation, in connection with the analysis.

communicating and formulating the acquired knowledge and arguments professionally and linguistically correct and in a structured & coherent way.

Essential reading: Catherine Seville, EU Intellectual Property Law and Policy (Elgar European Law, 2011, 431 pages).

Additional literature: Recent cases and other materials on various aspects of international and European intellectual property laws (selected and made available by the teachers; approx. 200-300 pages).

• Apply legal methodology to identify and analyze complex legal scientific issues at a specialized level
• Gain recent and relevant knowledge on national and international law via legal information search, sources of law and scientific literature
• Develop students’ ability to analyze and solve theoretical and practical legal issues in a systematic way
• Discuss and critically reflect on the various legal issues in the information society
No prior knowledge of intellectual property laws is required, but curiosity towards the various topics is expected. Willingness to experiment with new technologies, critically re-think IP protection and to participate in class discussions. Preparation, attendance and active participation is essential. Students must have a reasonable command of the English language.

Students from other scientific areas and in other academic stages can be admitted to the course if they have demonstrated interest in the topics.
The course is taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, field trips and discussions with intensive workshop-style group work and in-class presentations. Preparation and in-class participation is expected.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Preparation
  • 364,5
  • Seminar
  • 48
  • Total
  • 412,5
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral defence, 20 min.
Oral exam based on synopsis, 20 minutes
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period
Autumn: 1. - 5. December 2014 (preliminary dates)
Criteria for exam assesment

The objective of the examination is to determine the extent to which the students have acquired the knowledge and competencies, which are defined in the learning objectives of the course.
The exam will be closely linked to this course-plan and the content of the actual lectures.
The evaluation will focus on the following key areas:
   • knowledge of the applicable law and procedures
   • skills in identifying and analyzing complex scientific issues in a legal context
   • developing and presenting solutions and legal arguments in a systematic and coherent manner
   • demonstrate competence on how the identified problems could/should be solved in practice by applying relevant concepts of diverse legal disciplines.
More specific information on the scope and topics of the examination will be provided in the Q&A session.