Law, Regulation, and Technology - Master

The course is not offered autumn 2024

This course considers contemporary issues at the interface of Law, Regulation, and Technology. Its starting point is the traditional idea of Law as the primary means by which social and political life are regulated, and of the State as the primary regulatory actor. Through a series of case studies involving intellectual property (IP), we ask how this conception sits with the reality of regulation in the current advanced technological age. The objectives are to introduce students to some of the most important and pressing legal issues of today, and to enable them to engage in contemporary debates regarding (a) Technology as a source of regulatory opportunities and challenges for States, and (b) the role of Law, including IP Law particularly, in exploiting and negotiating them.

Schedule of Classes

The course will be taught in 12 seminars during the Autumn semester, following this or a similar schedule:

Class 1: Law, Regulation, and Technology

• The nature of Law, Regulation, and Technology
• Technology as a source of regulatory opportunities and challenges for States
• Law in an advanced technological age

Class 2: Intellectual Property

• The nature of Intellectual Property
• The role of IP Law historically and today
• Conceptions of IP, including as a regulatory tool and system

Classes 3 to 5: Patent Systems and Modern Biotech

• Arguments for (and Against) Patents
• Modern Biotech and its disruption of Patent Law
• Contemporary Patent Issues: inventions, incentives, and public benefit; gene and medical patenting

Classes 5 (continued) to 7: Copyright in Cyberspace

• Arguments for (and Against) Copyright
• The Internet and its disruption of Copyright Law
• Contemporary Copyright Issues: works, rights, and third-party freedoms; media monitoring, hyperlinking, and online hosting

Classes 8 and 9: Trade Marks in the Platform Economy

• Arguments for (and Against) Trade Marks
• The Platform Economy and its disruption of Trademark Law
• Contemporary Trademark Issues: brands, TM functions, and liability; extended protections, keyword advertising, and platform operators

Classes 10 and 11: (Intellectual) Property and Big Data

• Arguments for (and Against) Data Protection
• AI and its disruption of Data Protection
• Contemporary Data Protection Issues: regulatory agendas and approaches, (surveillance) capitalism; privacy, property, and proposals for reform

Class 12: Concluding Themes

All students are expected to prepare in advance for class and to participate in class discussions.

After successful completion of this course, students will have:

• Advanced knowledge of key contemporary debates in the field of Law, Regulation, and Technology, including specialised insight into some of the regulatory challenges created for Law and the State by advanced digital and bio technologies;
• Thorough knowledge of scholarly theories and methods in the field of Law, Regulation, and Technology, particularly as they relate to IP;
• The ability to apply this knowledge to new areas within the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP;
• The ability to analyse academic problems on the basis of the history, traditions, distinctive character, and place in society of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and particularly of IP
• The ability to ooperate with law students from other countries, and gain perspectives on common legal challenges from students from a legal background different than their own
• The ability to contribute with perspectives from their own country and legal background.

Students will also have developed certain skills and general competence, including:

• The ability to analyse and engage critically with doctrinal, policy, and theoretical sources of different types, and to use those sources to structure and formulate persuasive scholarly arguments in the fields covered by the course;
• The ability to apply their knowledge and skills when thinking about new problems in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP;
• The ability to work independently and to carry out independent, limited research in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP;
• The ability to write clearly, coherently, and persuasively on legal and policy issues in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP.
• The ability to present and evaluate legal analyses and points of view in English, both orally and in writing

Faculty of Law, University of Bergen

(The course requires in-person attendance and is not suitable for online/remote study)