Law, Regulation, and Technology - Bachelor

Lågaregradsemne

Emnebeskrivelse

Mål og innhald

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 10 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

Class 10: Concluding Themes

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

Læringsutbyte

After successful completion of this course, students will have:

  • Broad 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;
  • Familiarity with scholarly theories and methods in the field of Law, Regulation, and Technology, particularly as they relate to IP;
  • The ability to draw and build on this knowledge to engage with new areas within the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP;
  • Knowledge of the history, traditions, distinctive character, and place in society of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and particularly of IP.

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

  • The ability to understand and engage with doctrinal, policy, and theoretical sources of different types, and to use those sources to present scholarly arguments in the fields covered by the course;
  • The ability to apply academic knowledge and relevant work to practical and theoretical problems in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP, and to make well-founded choices between different legal and policy alternatives;
  • The ability to find, evaluate, and refer to information and scholarly ideas and to present them in a manner that is appropriate and instructive in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP;
  • The ability to engage in debates and write reasoned responses to questions on legal and policy issues in the fields of Law, Regulation, and Technology, and IP.

Studiepoeng, omfang

10 ECTS

Studienivå (studiesyklus)

Bachelor level

Undervisningssemester

Autumn

Undervisningsstad

Faculty of Law, University of Bergen

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

Krav til forkunnskapar
Two years of law studies. Good level of English
Tilrådde forkunnskapar
None
Studiepoengsreduksjon

Combined with JUS298-2-A Law, Regulation and Technology or JUS3505 Law, Regulation and Technology, this course will generate no new credits.

Complementary Courses

The course combines successfully with several courses offered in Spring, including:

Krav til studierett

The course is available for students:

  • Admitted to the five-year master programme in law;
  • Exchange students at the Faculty of Law.

The pre-requirements may still limit certain students' access to the course.

Arbeids- og undervisningsformer
Discussion-based classes.
Obligatorisk undervisningsaktivitet

Students are required to submit a paper of between 1,800 and 2,000 words (not including footnotes or appendices) on a designated topic. The paper must be approved by the Class leader (Professor J. Pila). Only students who have had their paper approved will obtain the right to sit the exam.

Students who fail the paper will have a chance to resubmit their paper before the exam.

Vurderingsformer

One two-hour digital school exam, sat after the final seminar in the Autumn semester. (Information about digital examination can be found at http://www.uib.no/en/education/87471/digital-examination.)

Exam language:

  • Question paper: English
  • Answer paper: English
Karakterskala
A - E for passed, F for failed
Vurderingssemester
Autumn
Litteraturliste
The reading list will be ready 1 July for the autumn semester.
Emneevaluering
According to the administrative arrangements for course evaluation at the Faculty of Law
Hjelpemiddel til eksamen

Support materials allowed during school exam

See section 3-5 of the Supplementary Regulations for Studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen.

Special regulations about dictionaries

  • According to the Regulations for Studies, one dictionary is permitted support material during the examination. Bilingual dictionaries containing for example both Norwegian-English and English-Norwegian are considered as one dictionary;
  • Bilingual dictionaries to/from the same two languages - for example Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian - in two different volumes are also considered as one dictionary (irrespective of publisher or edition);
  • Dictionaries as described above cannot be combined with any other types of dictionaries;
  • Any kind of combination which makes up more than two physical volumes is forbidden;
  • In case a student has a special need for any other combination than the above mentioned, such combination has to be clarified with/approved by the course coordinator minimum two weeks before the exam. Students who have not been granted permission to have a special combination minimum two weeks before the exam will be subject to the usual regulations (Section 3-5) about examination support materials.
Programansvarleg
The Academic Affairs Committee (Studieutvalget) at the Faculty of Law is responsible for ensuring the material content, structure and quality of the course.
Emneansvarleg
Professor Justine Pila
Administrativt ansvarleg
The Faculty of Law¿s section for students and academic affairs (Studieseksjonen) is responsible for administering the programme.