phd information technology law

Georgetown Law

Technology law & policy.

More than ever, lawyers and policymakers need a deep understanding of technology and the legal frameworks around it. Law firms are building specialized practices to meet increased legal demands around data security, privacy, artificial intelligence, fintech, and emerging technologies. Elected officials and government agencies require well-grounded counsel to update tech law and regulations. The business and public interest worlds alike demand advocates who can address new legal, ethical and societal challenges as they arise alongside rapid advances in technology.

The Technology Law & Policy LL.M. is designed both for recent law school graduates interested in entering technology-related fields, and for mid-career lawyers and policymakers seeking to hone their expertise in this specialty. Home to the nation’s leading academic program in technology law and policy, Georgetown Law is the ideal place for this innovative degree. We offer more than 70 tech law courses and have 17 full-time Law Center faculty.

Application forms and other information on requirements, deadlines and processes are available now on the Graduate Admissions section of Georgetown Law’s website.

Learn more about Georgetown’s offerings in tech law and policy at The Institute for Tech Law & Policy .

Note on Admissions and Application for Technology Law & Policy LL.M.

Application materials and answers to tuition related questions can be found by going to the Graduate Admissions page . Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Contact Information To learn more, please contact: Mary Pat Dwyer, Program Director, Technology and Law Policy Phone: (202) 662 - 9036 Email: Mary Pat Dwyer

Please address any questions about admissions the Office of Graduate Admissions .

LAW 3165 v00 Health Care Privacy and Security

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 1 credit hour

This course will explore the primary legal and policy principles surrounding the use and disclosure of personal data across the healthcare industry – the key privacy and security laws, regulations and principles that govern how the healthcare industry operates. We also will focus on the concepts surrounding the privacy of health information, and evaluate why this information should be treated differently than other personal information (if at all). We will learn through understanding the relevant legislative and regulatory provisions, and by applying a series of case/situation examples for class discussion. The overall goal of the course is to provide both an understanding of the relevant legal principles for health care privacy in general and to develop an ability to address how these issues arise in legal practice.

This course will emphasize the primary privacy and information security principles set out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) as a baseline framework for compliance, and will explore how these rules apply in theory and in practice. We will discuss the best approaches for overall HIPAA compliance. We also will explore emerging areas for privacy and information security, including new enforcement principles, issues related to security breaches and breach notification, and the emergence of “non-HIPAA” data as a new challenge to the privacy and data security regulatory structure (including important developments connected to the Dobbs decision and the COVID-19 pandemic). We will spend some time on issues related to privacy and medical research. We also will assess how these issues affect the business of healthcare, including a broad range of strategic and compliance issues affecting healthcare companies and others that use personal data. We will conclude with an analysis of these issues going forward – how the law and the health care system are changing and how the regulation of the privacy of personal health data can impact these developments.

LAW 025 v00 Administrative Law

J.D. Course (cross-listed) | 3 credit hours

This course considers the constitutional, statutory, and other legal limitations on what government agencies can do and how they can do it. What constraints govern the power of agencies to make law, decide cases involving private parties, and investigate citizens? How much "due process" must government agencies give citizens whose lives they affect; what limits has Congress imposed on the procedures for agency decision making; and to what extent can people call on courts to check what they regard as abuses of governmental power? These are among the questions addressed in the course, which draws together problems ranging from the legitimacy of New Deal institutions to the dramatic procedural innovations of recent federal administrations and problems created by renewed Congressional interest in the details of agency decision making.

LAW 025 v08 Administrative Law

J.D. Course | 3 credit hours

Virtually all areas of law today involve a substantial element of administrative law. This course introduces you to the role of administrative agencies and how law and political factors shape their powers and work. This includes materials on how they are empowered and constrained by the Constitution, Congress, presidents, and the courts. We also study ways in which agencies generate law and develop policies. This class coverage includes, among other topics, materials on citizens’ abilities to petition, shape, and litigate over agency actions; changing views of presidents’ roles and powers over agencies; and statutory factors and doctrine shaping judicial review of agency law interpretation, reasoning, responsiveness, policy shifts, and engagement with science and facts.

LAW 1528 v00 Advanced Antitrust Seminar: Antitrust and Intellectual Property

J.D. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2-3 credit hours

The intersection of antitrust and intellectual property underlies many key debates in contemporary competition law and presents topics of recurring importance. This advanced seminar introduces students to the antitrust/intellectual property interface, including the economics of innovation, the debate over the relationship between the two fields, and the impact of the evolution of that relationship on the antitrust analysis of specific practices. Topics include the economics of innovation, licensing practices, product design and tying, patent settlements, patent pools, standard setting, the acquisition of intellectual property rights, patent assertion entities, the assertion of IP rights, antitrust counterclaims in U.S. litigation, and select issues in the contemporary debate over "Big Tech." Grades will be based on bi-weekly papers written in response to the assigned readings; class participation can increase, but not decrease, the course grade.

Learning Objectives:

Students taking this course will:

Develop an understanding of the basic economics of innovation and their application of those principles to antitrust law and its intersection with intellectual property law.
Acquire an overview of key aspects of the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property in U.S. law, both in litigation and agency settings.
Explore recurring tensions between antitrust and intellectual property through the lens of particular practices.
Debate competing positions on the antitrust laws’ application to cutting-edge issues in IP-rich industries.

LAW 1745 v00 Advanced Foreign Intelligence Law

Foreign Intelligence (FI) law as a field is marked by a complex statutory and regulatory framing. Increasingly, it is coming into play in ordinary Article III courts in the United States, as well as in European courts overseas. Simultaneously, new and emerging technologies present fundamental challenges to the traditional FI collection paradigms. This course, accordingly, provides students already broadly familiar with the contours of the national security infrastructure and foreign intelligence collection with the opportunity to do a deep dive with a particular eye towards ways in which technology alters threat vectors and presents new opportunities, and risks, to the foreign intelligence regime.

It begins with the constitutional framing and historical background undergirding the introduction of statutory and regulatory measures. The course then dissects the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and its expansion in 1994 to incorporate physical search and again in 1998 to include the use of pen register and trap and trace devices, as well as certain business records. The attacks of 9/11 led to additional changes, with further alterations implemented by the 2008 FISA Amendments Act. Discussion centers on targeting, querying, and minimization procedures adopted by the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Counterterrorism Center, as well as reports detailing use of FISA.

The course next turns to new technologies that have fundamentally shifted the type of information available to the intelligence community (IC). Special emphasis is given to technologies of import for metadata: social network analytics and algorithmic sciences. It looks at how these technologies mesh with the legal analysis, with particular attention paid to FISA sections 215 and 702.

The course then addresses Executive Order 12333, delving into the associated DoD Directives, Instructions, Manuals, and Annexes; Attorney General Guidelines; CIA Regulations and Directives; and parallel regulatory and policy documents throughout the IC. With the advent of the Internet of Things, next generation social media, 6G networks, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the landscape is about to again shift. Accordingly, the course will further address new and emerging technologies, looking at how they fit – or fail to fit – current law.

The course ends with a unit focused on doctrinal developments (specialized Article III courts, geographic Article III courts, and European tribunals), as well as Article II deliberations introduced via Executive Order in autumn 2022.

LAW 040 v01 Advanced Patent Law Seminar

J.D. Seminar (cross-listed) | 3 credit hours

This advanced seminar presumes knowledge of patent law fundamentals and examines various specific topics, including the Hatch-Waxman Act, patent administration, claim interpretation, the doctrine of equivalents, the experimental use privilege, and comparative and international patent law. Students will write papers on some specific aspect of patent law, not limited to those topics covered in class.

LAW 1852 v00 AI and the Law Seminar: Principles and Problems

The ongoing development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies poses significant challenges and opportunities that the law must grapple with. This course will explore some of the normative and theoretical questions raised by the use of AI tools in different legal contexts. Topics to be covered include the use of AI as a substitute or guide for professional judgment; the use of AI as part of systems of government enforcement and adjudication; the use of AI by the private sector to predict, manage, and differentiate consumers; and the use of AI to generate texts, sounds, images, and other products.

Throughout, we will consider the principles at issue in debates over AI in the context of specific case studies of real world AI legal “problems.” We will ask whether existing legal theories and frameworks are up to the task of fostering the beneficial use of AI or whether and where new approaches may be necessary. We will also explore how understanding the marginal costs and benefits associated with AI sheds light on the uses and limitations of unassisted human judgment in the legal system as it currently exists.

No technical background is assumed.

Learning Objectives: This course is designed for students to improve their understanding of the following: (1) how artificial intelligence works, both in terms of existing technology as well as the pace and nature of its ongoing development; (2) how artificial intelligence is employed by the private and public sectors; (3) the concerns and hopes that these uses raise; (4) the possibilities and limitations of regulatory approaches to managing those concerns and encouraging AI’s benefits; and (5) how to identify what kinds of claims and concerns are driven by realistic assessments of current and near-future technology versus “hype” or ungrounded projections.

LAW 038 v05 Antitrust Law

This class will serve as a basic survey and introduction to U.S. antitrust law, including coverage of recent critiques and policy developments. As such, the reading will include the traditional case law, but also some examples of proposed legislation and contemporary advocacy material from policy activists. Thus, we will learn the basics of antitrust doctrine but also seek to understand the merits (or lack thereof) of contemporary critiques and proposed policy responses.

LAW 1396 v00 Antitrust Law Seminar: Case Development and Litigation Strategy

This course explores the process of raising and defending against antitrust challenges. Through a series of contemporary case studies, we will examine the resolution of antitrust disputes, focusing on the substantive strategies and procedural tools available to the litigants. In the context of these case studies, we will discuss criminal indictments, plea agreements and the DOJ's leniency policy, sufficiency of pleading, presumptions and burdens of proof, rules of evidence (including the use of expert evidence), dispositive pretrial motions, class actions and class action settlement strategies, temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, treble damage judgments, interlocutory and final appeals, and Supreme Court review. There will be no exam but a paper will be required.

LAW 038 v03 Antitrust Law: A Survey from the Sherman Act of 1890 to Today’s Progressive Movement

This class will serve as a basic survey and introduction to U.S. antitrust law, but with as much focus on the historical evolution of antitrust policy objectives as on antitrust case law. The course readings will therefore include historical analyses, scholarly commentaries, proposed legislation, and contemporary advocacy material from policy activists in addition to a narrowed selection of traditional case law. The objective of this course will be not just to learn the basics of antitrust doctrine but to understand and assess contemporary critiques and proposed policy responses to the current state of that doctrine.

LAW 1796 v00 Antitrust Seminar: From the Chicago School to the New Progressives: Regulating Technology Platforms, Durable Monopolies, and Mega-firms

In recent years progressive groups, Congress, and government antitrust agencies have taken an increasingly aggressive approach to enforcement against “big tech”, very large “mega firms,” and monopoly power more generally. In this seminar, we will examine current legislative and enforcement initiatives toward particular kinds of firms and economic conduct. We will examine how these enforcement initiatives differ in their presumptions, analysis, and objectives from antitrust enforcement principles and doctrine that rose to prominence over the second half of the twentieth century. We will trace the evolution of those principles from the “Chicago School” revolution in antitrust of the 1970’s and 1980’s through to the current “New Progressive” era, and critically assess both the new progressive policies and the shortcomings of the doctrine and theory to which those policies respond.

LAW 1740 v00 Artificial Intelligence and National Security: Law, Ethics, and Technology

J.D. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This two-credit course provides students with an appreciation of the legal, ethical, and technical issues raised by the proliferation of artificial intelligence in the field of national security. The focus of the course is to enable students as lawyers, leaders, and policymakers to grapple with these issues by giving them an understanding of how artificial intelligence operates; its potential and likely use in different national security settings; and how each use raises distinctive legal and ethical questions involving predictability, trustworthiness, responsibility, and accountability. The course will use examples and case studies to illustrate these issues, as well as videos to depict some of the technical aspects of artificial intelligence.

The specific learning objectives for the course are for students to understand the following:

(1) How artificial intelligence operates, including the concept of an algorithm, how it is trained on data, the statistical models that underlie this training and the basis for its outputs, machine learning, deep learning and neural networks, and the ways in which human choices and interactions shape this process. No technical background in statistics or computer science is necessary, since the goal is to explain these concepts in accessible terms.

(2) Artificial intelligence as a system involving human-machine teaming, the roles that each member of the team potentially plays at different points in the process, and the concept of trustworthy artificial intelligence.

(3) The role that artificial intelligence is playing in the national security field, its capabilities and potential applications to specific areas, and the extent to which global competition to employ and refine artificial intelligence is itself a national security issue.

(4) Limitations and risks of artificial intelligence, and possible ways to address them.

Assessment will be based on paper of 3,000 words (about 12 doubled-spaced pages) discussing a legal, ethical, or technological issue relevant to the course.

LAW 1856 v00 Artificial Intelligence and the Law

Machine Learning (ML) and other forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are rapidly transforming the way we make decisions, conduct business, and express ourselves. Our legal institutions are struggling to respond, and policymakers around the world are tweaking, overhauling, or remaking just about every area of law. This course will investigate the emerging legal frameworks being created to address the way ML and AI are reshaping society. Students will survey laws at the local, state, and federal levels from the United States as well as engage in comparative analyses of approaches in other countries.

The course will cover how AI is reshaping venerable common law doctrines–how should tort law treat autonomous vehicles?–Constitutional Law–do large language models produce protected speech under the First Amendment?–statutory protections–when do algorithmic hiring practices violate the Civil Rights Act?–and regulatory approaches–does high-frequency trading raise risks not currently accounted for in Securities Law? The course will investigate the use of AI by private parties and by public actors alike.

A core premise of this course is that students must deeply understand the technological advances that are spurring the rapid development of AI. Although no prior technical knowledge is required, students should expect to devote several dedicated class hours training neural networks and studying the computer code underlying recent advances in AI to understand the legal developments in a deeper manner.

Learning Outcomes.

At the end of the semester, students will have gained or strengthened the ability to:

Understand the technological advances that have led to the rapid advance of AI technology and develop a foundation of technical knowledge to better understand future advances;
Apply the emerging legal frameworks for regulating AI surveyed in the course and anticipate and understand future developments in this area of law;
Articulate moral, ethical, and policy-focused positions underpinning AI regulation;
Place the current developments and approaches in AI regulation into longer historical arcs of regulating technology and other complex systems; and
Diagnose the way AI and related technologies can exacerbate or alleviate pre-existing disparities such as in the differential treatment of individuals and groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability.

LAW 2028 v01 Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Law

LL.M Seminar (cross-listed) | 2-3 credit hours

This 2 or 3 credit seminar will provide an overview of the underlying and competing laws and policies arising from the assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) that continually make front page news. Since the 1980 opening of the country’s 1st IVF clinic amidst protests and pickets, courts and legislatures have struggled to create laws and policies in response to continually evolving reproductive advances. Topics will include: the legal status of the IVF embryo in the context of procreative rights (highlighted by the currently changing and challenging legal context); embryo cryopreservation, storage, disposition and mix-ups; legal implications of advances in egg freezing, reproductive genetics and oncofertility; posthumous reproduction; egg and sperm donation; traditional/genetic and gestational surrogacy; unique issues for single and same-sex couples, including the impact of legally recognized same-sex marriage; and professional and regulatory aspects of the ARTs.

Two classes that will examine selected legal and policy aspects of comparative ART law perspectives on “third-party ART” and the impact these differences have on cross-border reproductive practices, with a particular focus on surrogacy.

National experts in their respective fields will provide guest lectures on: medical advances in ART; psychosocial aspects of donor egg and 3rd party ART; reproductive genetics; and potentially other emerging developments.

LAW 050 v01 Aviation Law

J.D. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The course, taught by practitioners in the field, covers contemporary and cutting-edge aviation topics such as international commercial aviation, aviation security, and the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones) into the national airspace. The course material will encompass most aspects of aviation law, including the law of international civil aviation, the economic and safety regulation of air transportation, aircraft registration and certification, aircraft accidents, airport law, government immunity from tort liability, and airline liability for the carriage of passengers and cargo domestically and internationally under the Montreal Convention. Students are exposed to a range of materials, including cases, treaties, executive agreements, and regulations, with a view towards imparting practical skills that can be applied to any field of law.

LAW 1789 v00 Biotechnology and the Law Seminar

This is a survey class, examining issues ranging from drug regulation, clinical trials, assisted reproductive technology, telemedicine, and stem cell development/regulation to the commercialization of the human body. For this class we will use the Biotechnology, Bioethics, & The Law Casebook (Goodwin, et. al., eds). This course requires substantial reading, preparation, organization, and the ability to analyze subtle nuances between various judicial decisions, legislative enactments, ethics, and legal rules, which sometimes may seem in conflict.

In this class, we will examine whether emerging biotechnological conflicts are best resolved by regulation, judicial intervention, or private negotiation. Professor Goodwin encourages robust dialogue. As such, students should come to class prepared with their ideas, intuitions, and opinions. Their analysis should demonstrate a grasp of the materials. Students are expected to discuss the materials, act responsibly toward their peers, as well as conduct themselves in a professional manner. There are no prerequisites for this course. However, students must be prepared for rigorous discussions and substantial reading assignments. This course is a building block for the other courses in ethics, health law, and a law and science curriculum, including Patents, Food & Drug Law, Health Regulations, and Bioethics. The core competencies expected in this class are critical thinking and the application of social, legal, moral, and economic reasoning.

Much of the reading assigned for class will be covered during discussion. However, some assigned readings may not be covered given limited class time. Nonetheless, students are responsible for all reading materials. The readings include excerpts from medical journals, regulations, cases, newspapers, and social science periodicals.

Course Goals

The goals of this course are to:

Introduce students to the study of biotechnological developments, health policy, and ethics;
Familiarize students with the medical and legal literature on the topic;
Engage students with practical as well as theoretical ideas in biotechnology law;
Stimulate intellectual curiosity about the subject matter;
And inspire critical thinking and thoughtful analysis.

LAW 1040 v01 Civ Tech: Digital Tools and Access to Justice (Project-Based Practicum)

J.D. Practicum (cross-listed) | 4 credit hours

In a project-based practicum course, students participate in a weekly seminar and work on a project under the supervision of their professors. This project-based practicum course will expose students to the varied uses of computer technologies in the practice of law, with an emphasis on technologies that enhance access to justice and make legal services more affordable for individuals of limited means. Students will participate in a two hour/week seminar and carry out 10 hours/week of project work under the direction of the course professors.

SEMINAR: The seminar portion of the class is devoted to two topics: the access to justice crisis and the role of digital tools in bridging it. Among the issues we will discuss throughout the semester are: the extent of the justice gap, the economic and regulatory barriers to access, and the problem of resource constraints. We will also discuss how legal technologies are altering the landscape for persons of limited means and empowering disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and communities. The second topic is learning to design and develop legal expert systems. To create our systems, we use a software platform that does not require a coding background.

PROJECT WORK: Students will work in small teams for a legal service organization to develop a platform, application, or automated system that increases access to justice and/or improves the effectiveness of legal representation. These organizations include civil rights organizations, direct service providers, and other public interest organizations. The course culminates in a design competition: The Georgetown Iron Tech Lawyer Competition. Along the way, students learn systems logic, teamwork, and visual literacy skills. By the end of the semester, each team will have built a functional app intended for adoption by the participating legal services organization to put into use for its clients.

No programming background is required. Students are not required to have coding experience and will not be expected to learn to write software.

Students are encouraged to check out these apps created by Georgetown Law students in earlier semesters and in use at various organizations. They are also encouraged to contact Professor Rostain at ( [email protected] ) with questions.

LAW 3078 v00 Commercial Space Law

LL.M Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course will provide an overview of U.S. domestic legal regimes that govern commercial spaceflight activities, including those managed by the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Department of Commerce, U.S. Defense Department and State Department. The course will examine existing regulations and statutes as well as current discussions about changes to policy and law to address the evolving nature of the space industry and U.S. national space priorities. Examples include the Space Force, space traffic management, and oversight of non-traditional commercial activities in light of international treaty obligations.

LAW 1835 v00 Communications Law

This course will examine the historical, current, and prospective legal and regulatory treatment of communications services, devices, service providers, and platforms. Focusing on current regulatory and policy developments, we will cover issues concerning telephone companies, wireless carriers, Internet application and service providers, device manufacturers, and broadband network operators. The emphasis of the course will be on the rules, policies, and processes of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), but we also will discuss the roles of Congress, courts, and the Executive Branch. Once armed with a firm background in existing statutory and regulatory requirements, students will explore current legal and policy questions regarding communications law. In particular, our focus this semester will be on the structure and functions of the FCC, mobile broadband networks; recent debates surrounding the regulation of broadband networks and online platforms; and some special “hot topics.”

LAW 073 v02 Communications Law and Policy

This course is intended to help students understand the policy issues that underlie the regulation of communications industries, become familiar with the fundamental approaches to communications regulation and judicial review of that regulation, and evaluate the successes and failures of recent reforms. The course will address regulation of broadcasting, cable, wireline and wireless telephony, and broadband and Internet communications. Sections begin with a brief history of communications regulation and discuss the fundamental legal and policy decisions that have evolved through the present day. The course seeks to understand in what instances the government should intervene in the marketplace. When intervention occurs, the course seeks to evaluate government's most appropriate role in broadcast regulation, telephone regulation, wireless spectrum issues, cable television regulation and broadband regulation. We will discuss the powers of local, state, and federal regulators and attempt to identify the jurisdictional boundaries among them. The course explores the regulatory theory underlying the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and attempts to predict the regulatory models that should govern the 21st century.

LAW 073 v05 Communications Law and Policy

This course will survey the historical, current, and prospective legal and regulatory treatment of communications services, devices, service providers, and platforms. We will examine legal and regulatory issues regarding telecommunications services, mobile communications, broadcasting, cable, and broadband networks. The emphasis will be on the rules, policies, and processes of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), but we will also discuss the roles of Congress, courts, the Executive branch, states, and localities. Armed with a firm background in statutory and regulatory models, students will explore current and future legal and policy questions regarding communications law, considering the challenges technological convergence and innovation pose for existing regulatory frameworks in areas such as competition, spectrum policy, broadband subsidy, and net neutrality.

Understand the regulatory framework for the communications sector, including the statutory framework for the FCC’s regulatory authority.
Understand the roles, as well as the institutional competence and limitations, of the other key players in communications law and policy – Congress, the Executive branch, courts, states, and localities.
Deepen students’ understanding of major communications policy topics, so that they can identify key concepts and attendant arguments in play.
Analyze communications issues in an interdisciplinary manner, recognizing the intersection of economics, technology, policy, and law.
Practice skills useful to participating in the regulatory advocacy process by drafting a short, mock ex parte letter to the FCC on a designated issue. Skills practiced will include, among others, making legal arguments, discussing policy rationales, and appealing to policymakers’ agendas.

LAW 200 v01 Communications Law: Law and Policy in the Internet Age

The advent of the Internet has spawned massive leaps in technology and the way Americans use communications services to reach that technology. This course examines how courts, legislatures, and regulatory agencies react to constant change in communications technologies. We will focus on specific technological advances to explore the way legal, economic, social, and technological forces shape and are harnessed by legal systems faced with challenges to the status quo. The course will draw on leading communications law cases, statutes, and FCC and FTC actions. Students will explore the legal and lobbying battles raging today in Washington and across the world that are fueled by technological change, in areas such as net neutrality, privacy, broadband subsidy, competition, and spectrum policy. We will try to focus in particular on questions currently before the courts, the FCC and Congress. N ote that the focus of readings and in-class discussion is on physical communications technology, not on policies relating specifically to social media sites (although such topics are not out-of-bounds for paper topics). The goal is to deepen each student's understanding of major communications law topics, to determine if a comparison of these topics reveals a set of common legal, policy, and political reactions to technological change, and to provide future policymakers with the tools to respond to change more effectively.

The class will meet for two hours once per week. Grades will be based on class participation (25%) and a final paper/oral presentation (75%). There are no course prerequisites. While there is overlap with Communications Law and Policy on several issues, we cover different issues in total. For students with no communications law background, we will cover the basic background on the law and policy needed to understand the issues addressed.

Deepen each student's understanding of major communications policy topics in dispute.
Determine if a comparison of these topics reveals a set of common legal, policy, and political reactions to technological change.
Provide future policymakers with the tools to respond to change more effectively.
Provide insight to the role legal constraints play in policy debates and policy plays in legal challenges.
Improve oral and written advocacy skills through writing and presenting an advocacy white paper.

LAW 080 v00 Computer Crime Law

This course will explore the legal issues that judges, legislators, prosecutors, and defense attorneys confront as they respond to the recent dramatic increase in computer-related crime. In particular, we will consider how crimes online challenge traditional approaches to the investigation, prosecution, and defense of crime that have evolved from our experience with crimes in physical space. Topics will include: the Fourth Amendment online, the law of electronic surveillance, computer hacking and other computer crimes, cyberterrorism, the First Amendment and the Internet, and civil liberties online.

Although much of this class involves computer and internet technology, no prior technical background or knowledge is required.

Any technology that needs to be understood will be explained in class, and students should not hesitate to ask for other technical explanations.

LAW 1384 v00 Computer Programming for Lawyers: An Introduction

This class provides an introduction to computer programming for law students. Students will learn to code in Python, a language which is both easy to learn and powerful. There are no prerequisites, and even students without training in computer science or engineering should be able successfully to complete the class.

The course is based on the premise that computer programming has become a vital skill for non-technical professionals generally and for future lawyers and policymakers specifically. Lawyers, irrespective of specialty or type of practice, organize, evaluate, and manipulate large sets of text-based data (e.g. cases, statutes, regulations, contracts, etc.) Increasingly, lawyers are asked to deal with quantitative data and complex databases. Very simple programming techniques can expedite and simplify these tasks, yet these programming techniques tend to be poorly understood in legal practice and nearly absent in legal education. In this class, students will gain proficiency in various programming-related skills.

A secondary goal for the class is to introduce students to computer programming and computer scientific concepts they might encounter in the substantive practice of law. Students might discuss, for example, how programming concepts illuminate and influence current debates in privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, antidiscrimination, antitrust, and criminal procedure.

This class will consist of weekly lectures, in which students will review concepts from their weekly reading and writing code in collaboration with the professor. There will also be weekly labs, in which students will go over issues they might be having with the problem set and work in small groups with their TA.

Students will be required to complete problem sets between class meetings. To obtain a passing grade, students must complete problem sets, participate in class sessions, and demonstrate that they have learned the assigned skills.

At the completion of this class, students should be able to write simple to moderately complex computer programs that can automate text-handling and data-handling tasks that would be difficult or impossible to perform without programming skill. Students will also gain a solid foundation of programming knowledge and skills they can build upon to progress toward mastering more advanced programming techniques and other programming languages.

LAW 1499 v00 Computer Programming for Lawyers: Intermediate

This class builds on Computer Programming for Lawyers: An Introduction by introducing students to intermediate-level concepts of computer programming and computer science relevant to legal practice. The students in this course will serve as the Teaching Assistants for the introductory course, which will always be taught concurrently. In addition, students in this course will complete at least one substantial programming term project.

Enrollment in this course is by prior permission of the Professor only. All students must have prior computer programming experience. Students who have successfully completed the introductory course meet this requirement. Other students must demonstrate comparable prior experience, but this experience need not be formal training or professional experience. Students need not possess a technical degree, and self-taught programmers are welcome.

The course is based on the premise that computer programming has become a vital skill for non-technical professionals generally and for future lawyers and policymakers specifically. Lawyers, irrespective of specialty or type of practice, organize, evaluate, and manipulate large sets of text-based data (e.g. cases, statutes, regulations, contracts, etc.) Increasingly, lawyers are asked to deal with quantitative data and complex databases. Programming techniques can expedite and simplify these tasks, yet these programming techniques tend to be poorly understood in legal practice and nearly absent in legal education. In this class, students will gain proficiency in various programming-related skills.

This is a hands-on class. Each student will spend most class sessions using his or her own computers, reading, writing, and debugging code. Every student must bring to every class a computer, on which free software will be provided to be installed.

LAW 215 v00 Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights and Liberties

J.D. Course (cross-listed) | 4 credit hours

This course focuses primarily on the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments (free speech, due process, and equal protection) and the role of the Supreme Court as ultimate interpreter and guardian of the Bill of Rights.

Note for Professor Barnett's Fall section: As a way to understand the structure of current doctrines, Professor Barnett’s course will stress how and why the doctrines evolved from the Founding through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Warren and Rehnquist Courts to the Roberts Court today. The course will also stress the effect that slavery had on the original Constitution and the Reconstruction Amendments. Coverage will include the Second and Ninth Amendments. Professor Barnett's section will consist of a 3-hour unit consisting of two 85 minute class sessions and a 1-hour unit consisting of video presentations on the theory and practice of originalism that students can view at their convenience at any time before or during the semester. Internet access on any device is not allowed during class; all laptop use is disallowed in Professor Barnett's course (unless necessary to conduct Zoom instruction).

Learning goals for Professor Spann's section

The primary goal of the course is to teach students how to manipulate the doctrinal rules and underlying policy considerations that govern the topics in the course, and to get students to confront the normative implications raised by such vast amounts of doctrinal indeterminacy, especially for the law’s claim of neutrality toward subordinated groups.

LAW 1881 v00 Constitutional Law: Federal Courts Tackle the Digital World

J.D. Seminar (cross-listed) | 1 credit hour

For more than a century, court decisions have lagged advances in technology. The advent of the Internet and developments in artificial intelligence, particularly generative artificial intelligence, have accelerated this gap. This course explores how federal courts are tackling disruptive technologies and digital challenges. The focus will be on a few select areas, including speech, Section 230 of the Communications in Decency Act, privacy, and artificial intelligence, though in reality the lines are blurred between these topics. We will look at cases that serve as the analytical foundation for these issues and consider contemporary judicial efforts to address the shifting legal and digital landscape in an ambiguous environment. Students will have an opportunity to engage in structured, in-class debates and exercises to highlight conflicting views in this arena. The course will also address how judges are engaging with technology in their chambers and courtrooms and how this engagement may impact the decision-making process.

LAW 458 v00 Contract Law Seminar: Franchising

Franchised businesses account for approximately 40 percent of retail sales in the U.S., more than a trillion dollars a year, and have about 10 million employees. Franchising is growing: a new franchise opens in the U.S. roughly every eight minutes of every working day. Although most people may associate franchising with “fast food restaurants,” franchising is prevalent in many areas of the economy, including automotive, hotel, various retail establishments, and numerous business services, among others. With the explosive growth of franchising, which really began in the 1950s, has come the development of franchise law as a separate discipline during the past 60 or so years and significant growth in the number of lawyers who practice in this field. Thus, franchising and the evolving practice of franchise law have a great practical impact on the U.S. and global economy.

Franchise law is a combination of contract and statutory law and is heavily influenced by trademark, antitrust and other areas of business law. Franchise agreements tend to be lengthy multi-year trademark licensing agreements. Because franchising involves distribution of goods and services, antitrust and other competition law considerations must be taken into account. Franchising is also regulated at both the federal and state level. Many franchise sales are regulated by state and federal disclosure requirements, analogous to SEC requirements. Automotive, petroleum and certain other franchise relationships are regulated by specific statutes, while various states generally regulate aspects of the franchise relationship, such as termination or renewal of the relationship. There is a substantial amount of litigation in franchising, involving not only disputes between franchisors and franchisees, but also franchise employees, consumers and others. Many common law contract concepts, such as the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” have evolved and continue to evolve in the context of franchise law. Franchising is also growing rapidly outside the U.S.; accordingly, a variety of laws and regulations of other countries are relevant.

This course will cover the legal and practical business basics of franchising, including, structuring of the franchise relationship and the analysis of franchise agreements; the sales process and disclosure requirements; the relationship of franchising, employment, trademark, antitrust and other generally applicable statutes; contract and other common law concepts that affect the franchise relationship; statutes regulating the franchise relationship at the state and federal levels; automobile, petroleum and international franchising; and franchise-related dispute resolution. Students will be evaluated on the basis of a paper and class participation, including mock negotiations at the end of the semester.

My principal goal is for you to gain a general understanding of franchise law. In addition, I want you to become comfortable reading complex contracts, specifically franchise agreements, and to be able to analyze and negotiate a franchise dispute.

LAW 110 v03 Copyright Law

This course examines the law of copyright and its role within the overall framework of intellectual property law. Topics covered include the subject matter requirements for copyrightability; the rules that govern determination of authorship, the rights that copyright law confers on authors and the limitations and exceptions to those rights; the rules governing indirect liability of intermediaries and liability for circumvention of technological protections; and the scope of copyright preemption.

Learning goals for this course:

Critical mastery of the existing copyright statutory, doctrinal, and policy landscapes; critical mastery of strategic considerations in copyright licensing and litigation, in technology ventures that implicate copyrights, and in copyright policymaking.

LAW 110 v07 Copyright Law

This course examines copyright law, providing a basic understanding of its objectives and principles. Topics covered include subject matter requirements for copyrightability; rules that govern determination of authorship; rights copyright law confers on authors; rules governing indirect liability of intermediaries and liability for circumvention of technological protections; and scope of copyright preemption. The course will also consider the tensions between copyright holders and technology that threatens traditional content business models.

LAW 110 v08 Copyright Law

This course will cover the system of legal protection for creative expression and content dissemination in the United States, with a particular emphasis on policy and policy implications. Topics covered include: requirements for copyright protection, copyrightable subject matter, authorship, useful articles, Section 106 rights (including moral rights), copyright infringement and its elements, exceptions (especially fair use), copyright licensing (via the music industry), copyright infringement (with a focus on substantial similarity analysis), direct and secondary liability, and remedies. When applicable, we will include and encourage discussion of the historical, cultural, political and racial contexts in which copyright law arose, and how lawmakers have (and haven’t) accommodated evolving norms.

LAW 2070 v00 Corporate National Security Law

LL.M Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Corporate National Security Law explores important legal issues arising out of the U.S. government’s reliance on the private sector for its national security, and the increasing convergence and conflict between national security, technology, and the private sector. The course will focus on: (1) privatization and insourcing/outsourcing issues for the U.S. government in the national security arena; (2) government contracts issues in the national security sphere; (3) export controls; (4) classified information and secrecy issues; and (5) emerging issues at the intersection of national security, technology, and the private sector.

LAW 121 v01 Corporations

Students should note that Corporations is a prerequisite for Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, Business Planning Seminar, and many corporate law seminars.

This is a basic course in business corporations. Brief coverage is given to factors bearing on choice of organization, including partnership attributes, process of corporate formation, corporate privileges and powers, corporate capital structure, and limited liability. Close examination is given to the governance structure of the corporation and the fiduciary obligations of directors and officers. The particular nature of the public corporation is explored. Topics studied may include stock trading by corporate insiders, transactions in corporation control, and the procedural problems in stockholder derivative suits. Along with a focus on such policy questions as federal-state jurisdiction, the nature of the corporate governance system, and the role of the corporation in modern society, the course deals with the role of the lawyer in corporate matters.

LAW 121 v05 Corporations

This is a basic course in business corporations. This course explores the governance structure of the corporation and the fiduciary obligations of directors and officers, with a particular focus on the nature of the public corporation. Topics studied may include: the role of shareholders in contrast with the role of directors and officers, the issues surrounding transactions in corporation control, and the procedural problems in stockholder derivative suits. Policy questions such as federal-state jurisdiction, the nature of the corporate governance system, the role of the corporation in modern society, and the role of the lawyer in corporate matters may also be included.

Note: This course will not cover alternative entities or federal securities law.

LAW 121 v08 Corporations

LL.M Course | 3 credit hours

Students should note that Corporations is a prerequisite for Advanced Corporate Law, Comparative Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, Business Planning Seminar, and corporate law seminars.

This course will presume familiarity with the basic vocabulary and fundamental concepts of corporate law and focus on salient divergent features of US corporate law.

LAW 121 v09 Corporations

This is a basic course in business organizations with a primary focus on corporations and including a brief examination of limited liability companies. Throughout the course, students will consider the role of lawyers in corporate matters. Brief coverage is given to factors bearing on choice of organization, including process of corporate formation, corporate privileges and powers, corporate capital structure, and limited liability. Close examination is given to the governance structure of the corporation and the obligations of directors and officers. The particular nature of the public corporation is explored. Topics studied may include stock trading by corporate insiders, transactions in corporation control, the procedural problems in stockholder derivative suits, and judicial disregard of the corporate form.

LAW 1127 v00 Cyber and National Security: Current Issues Seminar

This seminar will examine legal and policy issues related to cybersecurity -- that is, hacking and other intrusions on global computer and communications networks. The primary focus will be the national security implications of cybersecurity and the current challenges that senior lawyers, policymakers, and the private sector face in addressing those issues. The course will look at international and U.S. domestic law and will examine cyber issues both from the perspective of (1) the U.S. government entities that seek to use cyber tools to further military and other national security aims, and (2) the many government and private sector actors who must defend against the use of these tools use by others. The goal of the course is to introduce students to the complex legal and policy issues that senior national security decision-makers must address and to provide insight into the practical challenges they present. The focus of the class is law and policy, not technology. You do not need a technical background to take the course.

LAW 3171 v00 Cyber Threat Landscape: Legal Considerations at the Crossroads of the Public and Private Sectors

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The cyber threat landscape is constantly changing: threat actor tactics and technological advances, including the proliferation of AI solutions, are rapidly evolving as the legal field tries to keep pace. While cyber defense and national security considerations are often thought of as governmental responsibilities, the private sector has a critical role to play in addressing cybersecurity threats. The management and mitigation of, and defense against, cybersecurity risks is multifaceted, and the public and private sectors are closely intertwined in this effort.

This advanced, discussion-based seminar will focus on the intersection of the private and public sectors in the cybersecurity field with a particular focus on legal considerations and challenges the private sector faces in the industry. We will cover a range of topics, including: intelligence and information sharing; cybersecurity threats, updates, and trends; private sector cybersecurity laws and regulations; cybersecurity investigations and threat actor disruptions and prosecutions; and challenges and tensions between the public and private sectors in these contexts. At the end of the seminar, students will participate in a live “tabletop” cyber-attack simulation with the goal of developing practical skills in the practice of cybersecurity law.

LAW 1545 v00 Cyber Threats, Information Security and Technology in the Practice of Law

For all practical purposes, nearly every substantially-sized legal matter presents critical challenges that require attorneys to embrace and understand how to handle significant volumes of data and documents and to advise clients on the security risks threatening that information. Today’s lawyers need to be prepared to handle the increasing levels of vital threats and risks posed against their clients and their data.

This hands-on seminar will take students through an exciting, practical exploration of the ways in which the use of powerful technology-based tools is fundamentally transforming the practice of law as we know it. Data and information security as concerns are creating a ‘new normal’ in terms of how lawyers can be best prepared to help their clients, through an important understanding of technology-based solutions, to augment traditional legal representation.

In this course, we will examine some fascinating dynamics of the legal practice, as shaped by ‘information as risk’ as a new fundamental principle, with a focus on the importance of handling those concerns and evaluating how they could impact client risks and affect case outcomes.

This seminar will visit an expansive range of subtopics including data forensics, data analytics, cyber security, data privacy, Internet of Things, deep/dark web, social media, cloud computing, structured and unstructured data, and the emerging roles of lawyers as data and information-risk experts.

From an exploration of essential electronic discovery principles through non-traditional evidentiary concepts, for in-house, government, and outside lawyers alike, this seminar will prepare students to enter the job market with an enhanced understanding of what organizations require of lawyers, especially from technology and information-risk advisory perspectives.

Through a series of lectures and demonstrations that will feature industry-recognized experts, this seminar will provide valuable insights that will illuminate the fascinating interplay of technology and law, with particular focus on how case outcomes can be shaped by leveraging an understanding of data, security, and technology.

LAW 2052 v00 Cybersecurity Law

This interactive lecture course will explore various legal and policy issues related to enabling a safe and secure Internet and protecting government and private sector networks. The topics to be discussed include relevant U.S. legal authorities, cybersecurity roles and responsibilities of government agencies, private sector cybersecurity risk management, information sharing, Internet governance, and the application of international law to nation state activity in cyberspace. Lectures by the professor and occasional guests with relevant expertise will be used to stimulate class discussion. Students will be assigned a reflection assignment following each of a number of in-class table top exercises. There will be a four-hour take-home exam that must be completed during the first week of the exam period.

LAW 1825 v00 Cybersecurity Risks, Rules, Responsibilities and Recovery

This class will provide students with a focused study of what laws, standards and liabilities govern cybersecurity. The course will examine cyber risks faced by private and public sector entities such as ransomware, destructive malware, critical infrastructure attacks on industrial control systems, personal data breaches, email account take-overs, exfiltration of proprietary data and intellectual property, exploitation of software and internet hardware vulnerabilities, insider threats, and state-sponsored cyber attacks.

The class will review the role of various government agencies such as the FBI, DOJ, NSA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, financial regulators, and their respective international counterparts, etc.

Students will explore the distinction between agencies that help protect and defend against cyberattacks, and those that regulate the sufficiency of private sector cybersecurity safeguards and enforce against putative laggards.

A broad range of cybersecurity laws, Executive Orders, and agency actions will be covered. Major cybersecurity incidents such as those involving (e.g.) Yahoo!, Equifax, NotPetya, Office of Personnel Management, SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, Cyclops Blink will be discussed as case studies. The responsibility of corporate boards of directors will be examined. Readings will include legal decisions and settlements related to consumer class actions, shareholder derivative and securities litigation, business-to-business legal claims, and government enforcement actions.

LAW 1815 v00 Decentralization, Finance, and the Law

This seminar will examine the concept of decentralization and finance as it is applied across various issue areas: securities law, antitrust law, intellectual property, and financial stability.

Decentralization has attracted enormous attention with the rise of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance. However, the term “decentralization” is a term of art rather than a legal concept—although the norms and general understanding of particular uses of the term can have decisive legal consequences. In this seminar, students will compare and contrast the contexts and settings in which the decentralization conversation has had particular salience, particularly when applied to Web 3 and blockchain technologies. Guest speakers will additionally visit the class to provide real world applications and perspective. A basic understanding of what a cryptocurrency is will be useful to students taking the course.

LAW 219 v00 Emerging Growth Companies and Venture Capital Financings

J.D. Course | 2 credit hours

This course covers the legal and business issues that arise in the context of representing emerging growth companies and the venture capital investors who provide an important source of capital to such companies. In particular, the course will focus on the legal issues typically encountered by private companies at formation, financing, operation and key corporate events, including acquisition transactions and public offerings. Topics covered include corporate formation and governance, venture capital financing, employment and equity compensation matters, protection of intellectual property, securities laws compliance and exit strategies through merger, acquisition or initial public offering. The course will offer an introduction to these topics through the eyes of attorneys who practice in a Silicon Valley-based law firm active in the East Coast technology and life sciences market and will also include guest presentations by industry participants, such as venture capitalists, angel investors and entrepreneurs. The course will include a practice exercise designed to introduce students, working in practice teams, to the process of structuring and executing venture capital transactions.

LAW 1337 v00 Empirical Analysis for Lawyers and Policymakers Seminar

This seminar is intended to help students become better consumers of empirical work in the law and social sciences. By the end of the semester, students should: (1) understand the basics of some common empirical methodologies; (2) see how empirical work can inform public policy; and (3) have a better sense of the limits and problems inherent in empirical work.

Each week, we will cover one or more policy-relevant empirical papers that students will be expected to read. Students will submit a 1-2 page analysis of an assigned paper before class. Each paper will introduce students to a particular empirical methodology, or show how it might be applied in a particular policy setting.

Topics will be drawn from a variety of areas, including criminal law, education, health, development, and labor. For example, we might study questions like: what is the impact of education on earnings? How do 401(k) plans affect people’s savings decisions? How does a change in the minimum wage affect labor supply? Do minimum drinking ages reduce drunken driving deaths? What are the benefits and limits of randomized controlled trials?

Toward the end of the semester, students will be asked to write an 10-12 page paper that analyzes in detail an empirical paper of their own choosing. If there is time, students will be asked to present their analysis to the class in a final presentation.

Grades will be based on the short 1-2 page analyses, the 10-12 page final paper and presentation, and classroom participation.

LAW 137 v03 Entertainment Law

This course will explore legal and business issues that arise in connection with the development, production and exploitation of entertainment product, with a primary focus on theatrical motion pictures, television and digital content. Topics will include contracts and contractual relations in the entertainment industry; individual and publicity rights; protection of literary material; the protection of ideas; representation of clients in the entertainment industry; issues raised by exploitation of entertainment works in the distribution chain; the roles of agents, managers and creative executives; and so-called “backend” participation accounting. We will explore how digital innovation and technology has dramatically transformed the production and distribution of content and how relevant law, public policy and business principles apply to this industry (including the role of copyright and antitrust throughout the history of the business). The class will strive to emphasize real-world lawyering and how to advance a client's interests through careful business analysis, the crafting of contract language and legal interpretation.

Class participation is encouraged and will form some part of the grade.

LAW 656 v00 Entrepreneurship and the Law: Evaluating Client Business Plans and Growth Strategies

This two-credit course will focus on the processes and challenges of entrepreneurship and the legal and strategic roles that a lawyer plays as an advisor to early-stage and rapid-growth companies. Topics will include: the entrepreneurial mindset, capital formation, resource management, forecasts and projections, leadership and team building, the entrepreneur-attorney relationship, leveraging intellectual capital and related growth strategies. Students will work in teams on mid-term assignments and a final assignment that will include analyzing a business plan. The goal of these exercises is to develop the skills that are essential to the evaluation of business plans and strategic growth of companies and to build an advisory skill set. Guest speakers will include entrepreneurial leaders, accountants, investment bankers and others involved in the entrepreneurial advisory process. Students who are interested in representing and advising entrepreneurs and start-up companies or in becoming entrepreneurs themselves will benefit from this class. This class also will be beneficial for JD/MBA joint degree students.

LAW 1617 v00 Entrepreneurship: The Lifecycle of a Business

This course is targeted towards law students who are interested in participating in an entrepreneurial venture at some point in their career, whether in a business or legal role (i.e., as internal or external advisor). To be clear, it is a business class, not a traditional law class, although legal issues will be highlighted and addressed throughout, as they would be if taught to business students since business and legal issues are always closely intertwined. The primary objective of this course is to give students an understanding of and appreciation for the primary and critical steps in the lifecycle of a start-up, from inception to raising capital to scaling/business execution to exit.

The course takes a real-world approach to learning, leveraging heavily off the extensive experience of the Professor, who has successfully executed two entrepreneurial ventures, as well as guest speakers with particular expertise in certain topics covered by the course and a simulation group exercise involving a real-life start-up scenario. This perspective should help prepare students for the real-life challenges – and rewards – of engaging in entrepreneurship and business building. This course is aimed at law students who are interested in participating in an entrepreneurial venture at some point in their career, whether in a business or legal role (i.e., as internal or external advisor).

Course Goals / Student Learning Outcomes :

start and structure a business with the right team and idea;
draft an effective business plan and raise capital from different sources;
build a collaborative company culture and infrastructure for scalability; and
exit the business while maximizing value.
The goal is to give students an understanding of and appreciation for the primary steps in the lifecycle of a start-up, from inception to raising capital to scaling/business execution to exit.
Students will gain an appreciation for the practical requirements and challenges (and rewards) of starting and building a business, as well as the attendant legal issues at each step in the start-up process.

LAW 3144 v00 Federal Advocacy in Technology Law and Policy

Students who take this course will better understand stakeholder politics; federal legislative, regulatory, and enforcement processes; and the advocacy skills needed to achieve policy outcomes in the interrelated fields of technology, telecommunications, and media (“TTM”). Students will gain hands-on experience practicing technology advocacy. The course first reviews key issues in technology policy and advocacy, such as competition, content moderation, net neutrality, privacy, AI & bias, and cybersecurity.

Armed with the basics of current technology policy issues, students then learn advocacy tools to “make” technology policy. Students will review and draft collateral materials used for technology policy advocacy, including white papers, talking points, comments, “op/eds,” earned media coverage, and more, gaining an appreciation for the differences from, and complementary relationship with, traditional legal materials and legal practice. Students will be introduced to the legislative process (committee hearings and markups, bicameral action, budget procedure); independent agency rulemaking and adjudication (comments, ex parte presentations, Administration and congressional input); relevant enforcement proceedings (Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission merger review); and related advocacy in the courts (amicus briefs).

This is a skill-intensive course with writing assignments, workshops, presentations, peer support, and simulations. It will have a final assessment with a written and oral component. There are no prerequisite courses required. Classes will incorporate pre-class preparations and in-class skill-building exercises.

LAW 2044 v00 Financial Market Reform and Innovation

This course examines the ever-evolving regulation of financial markets, institutions, and innovative financial products. We will evaluate the emerging regulatory issues and reform of over-the-counter derivatives markets, analyzes changes to federal banking laws (including systemic risk regulations, new capital and margin requirements, resolution authorities and the Volcker Rule), and explores enhanced consumer protection rules. The course will also explore advances in financial technology (commonly referred to as ‘FinTech’), specifically virtual currency. We will examine how virtual currencies are used by financial market participants and evaluate major developments in the regulation of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple, Litecoin, and others.

This course also provides a comprehensive overview of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”) and its ongoing implementation efforts by Federal financial regulators. The Dodd-Frank Act is the most consequential reform of the financial services industry since the Great Depression. We will analyze financial market reform efforts emerging regulatory issues that are intended to increase transparency in financial markets, reduce systemic risks, increase the safety and soundness of the financial system, and enhance protections for consumers.

Learning objectives: By the end of this course, I hope you will have a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. You will gain a sense of the genesis and policy developments underpinning the Dodd-Frank legislation, an overview of fundamental aspects of financial reform in Dodd-Frank, its basic requirements, its overarching goals, and its upsides and downsides. You will not learn every detail of financial services regulation or every part of Dodd-Frank, but you should grasp the nature and structure of the central tenants of federal oversight of the financial services industry and its market participants.

Another aim of the course is skills-oriented. By participating in class discussions and preparing and presenting the Comment Letter Group Project, I hope you will hone your skills in speaking fluently and comfortably about legal issues. The Comment Letter Group Project is designed to give you real-world experience/exposure to what regulatory lawyers actually do in private and government practice in the financial services space. I want students to be able to identify an issue, think critically about how to solve it, employ legal reasoning to defend their approach, and practice legal writing. My specific expectations for the comment letter project are set out in the “Comment Letter Group Project” section of syllabus

LAW 1744 v00 FinTech and Financial Democratization Seminar

“Fintech” often refers to the use of modern technologies and novel methods in offering financial services. This bourgeoning sector has significantly disrupted the financial marketplace, challenging the conventional roles of banks, other financial institutions, regulators, and policymakers. Legal scholars often evaluate how the novelties of Fintech fit or do not fit within existing legal regimes, and how such regimes should be modernized in response. Fewer scholars examine what might be the most transformative promise of Fintech – whether it does or can democratize the financial marketplace and how the law might facilitate (or frustrate) that aim. This seminar examines just this.

Seminar readings will illuminate the relationship between the financial marketplace and oft-marginalized communities and allow students to assess whether effective solutions to certain inequities lie in Fintech, fundamental policy reforms, or both. This course covers topics such as payment systems, credit markets, financial advising, savings, and security investing. It focuses on the U.S. marketplace, but will occasionally reference trends in international markets for comparative analysis. Readings are primarily drawn from legal, economic and sociological research, regulatory and legislative reports, cases, and popular news media.

The goal of this seminar is for students to develop views on the purpose and role of Fintech, the objectivity of financial markets and regulation, and whether financial democratization is a necessary or achievable aim for market providers. Students will further hone their critical analysis, research and writing, and public speaking skills.

LAW 1442 v00 Fintech Law and Policy

Technology-driven disruption has upended many industries – retail, entertainment, transportation, to name just a few – and now we are seeing it redefine financial services. The rise of Fintech is perhaps the most interesting industry transformation to study from a legal perspective because of the way it impacts complex financial services regulations. Regulatory frameworks that were created decades ago are being challenged by the rise of Internet and mobile-driven financial services providers. This course will hone in on a few areas where the US financial regulatory structure is being challenged by technological innovation and may require fresh thinking.

Financial services can be broken down into three distinct subsectors: 1) Insurance; 2) Retail Banking; and 3) Investment/Advisory Banking. This course will focus on how technology is transforming both retail and investment/advisory banking. Retail banking law was designed for a world of brick and mortar banks that accepted deposits and leveraged those deposits to provide commercial and personal loans. Investment/advisory banking law was designed for a world of a relatively small number of sophisticated investors. This traditional schema is being transformed, rapidly.

The smartphone is replacing the retail bank as the method by which a small business or consumer conducts their day-to-day banking activity. A 2015 report by Goldman Sachs found that 33% of millennials do not think they will need a traditional bank in the next five years. In fact, 73% of millennials reported that they are more excited about new offerings in the financial services space from the likes of Google, Apple and Amazon.

Moreover, in the financial services industry lines are blurring – financial tech companies are expanding financial services ecosystems and traditional financial services companies are expanding their digital capabilities. New business models are being created that leverage the data and capabilities afforded by the Internet, and seemingly diverse industries ranging from telecom to traditional banks are competing over similar financial services activities.

Crowdfunding, mobile payments, online lending, robo-advisors, and Bitcoin are new phenomenon that challenge existing regulatory structures. The SEC, Treasury Department, Office of Comptroller of Currency, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, Federal Reserve Bank, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Federal Trade Commission are just a few of the regulatory bodies that are increasingly exploring Fintech developments. Moreover, the courts have been faced with challenges to several federal and state laws that were written before modern technological innovations took hold and challenged existing concepts of Federalism. This class will focus in on these particular challenges, will question existing regulatory bodies, approaches and standards, as well as discuss the practicalities of alternative regulatory structures and rules.

The class will proceed in 4 parts. Part 1 will be an introduction to retail banking law and disruptions that are occurring due to Fintech. Part 2 will be an introduction to investment/advisory banking law and disruptions that are occurring due to Fintech. Part 3 will address cross-cutting horizontal disruptions. And, finally Part 4 will involve a high-level assessment of regulatory structures and approaches for Fintech. After this course, students should have a strong baseline knowledge of the myriad of legal and policy issues that exist in the Fintech arena.

LAW 196 v03 Free Press

"Congress shall make no law . . .," the First Amendment commands, "abridging the freedom . . . of the press." But Congress, the Executive Branch, and the courts have promulgated a host of laws governing both print and electronic media. This survey of mass media law explores such current topics as prior restraints on publication, defamation, privacy, newsgathering liability, media liability for unlawful conduct of third parties, compelled disclosure of sources, and access to information. Practical aspects of representing media clients are examined along with public policy implications of existing legal doctrines and proposals for change. Much of the course is discussion-based, and students will be expected to make meaningful contributions to that discussion, with class participation forming the basis for one-fourth of the grade for the semester.

LAW 1829 v00 From Formation to Exit - Capital Formation for Startups

This course is early stage financing from formation to a $75M Reg A+ round in hyper-speed. Students will play the role of the company’s outside legal counsel. Students will assist with formation, capital formation, and general legal guidance. They’ll assist with raising a $1 million pre-seed round from friends and family, a $5 million Regulation Crowdfunding Offering, and eventually a $75M Regulation A+ offering. Lastly, the company will receive a term sheet from a prominent VC which students will assess, issue spot, and advise the company thereon.

LAW 3152 v00 Front Lines and Foreign Risk: National Security Through the Lens of CFIUS and Team Telecom

This course will examine how the United States increasingly relies on two committees to assess risks to national security arising from foreign investment in the United States and foreign participation in telecommunications. Specifically, this course will provide students the opportunity to compare and contrast the assessment processes established by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (Team Telecom). To establish a foundation, students will consider the history of CFIUS and Team Telecom since the millennium and examine how successive administrations and Congress have shaped foreign risk reviews, which have dramatically increased in frequency, gravity, and complexity with greater public visibility. Students will assess how CFIUS and Team Telecom reviews fit within the broader U.S. national security strategy and will consider the increasingly prevalent view that economic security is national security. Students will learn that although national security priorities vary from administration to administration, bipartisan attention has continued to focus on risks related to foreign investment in the United States, particularly regarding the development of critical technologies (e.g., microelectronics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing among others). Throughout this course, students will be encouraged to consider how the government balances the benefits of foreign investment and participation, including promotion of economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and job promotion, while protecting national security.

LAW 1882 v00 Generative AI and the Future of Free Speech & Copyright Law

In this course, students will gain an understanding of the technical basics of generative AI models and the copyright, First Amendment, and intermediary liability legal questions that will shape these models’ development and use. Through course readings—including case law excerpts, law review articles, technical briefings, and policy white papers—class discussion, and experimentation with generative AI tools, students will develop familiarity with the capabilities and limitations of these tools and an understanding of how questions around generative AI relate to broader law and policy debates about freedom of expression in the digital age.

LAW 726 v01 Global Competition Law and Policy

This seminar will examine the development of competition laws around the world, differences in substantive standards among the major enforcement jurisdictions; the role of historical, political, and economic forces that affect those differences; and the possible consequences of those differences. We will start with a basic understanding of competition principles common to key jurisdictions including the U.S., Canada, the EC, the UK, and Japan, and will compare and contrast these with the principles applied in developing and transition economies, such as China, Mexico, India, and South Africa. Particular emphasis will be on current issues and trends including the role of antitrust in a digital economy, multi-jurisdictional merger control, and regulation of dominant firm conduct. We will also consider the role of competition policy in economic and political development generally.

LAW 068 v01 Global Revolutions, Civic Activism, and Civil Society

J.D. Course (cross-listed) | 1 credit hour

Around the world, people are mobilizing to defend democracy, protect human rights, and promote sustainable development. We’ll study the international legal framework for civic activism, examining laws governing protests, social justice movements, and and nonprofit organizations. We’ll also explore the impact of national security, authoritarianism, and digital technology on civic space.

We'll take a global tour, comparing approaches in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. We'll discuss current events, play the role of UN Ambassadors, and help countries draft laws.

This class will provide skills and contacts to help you pursue a career in international human rights law. Past classes have spoken with UN officials, a lawyer for a group allegedly engaged in terrorism, and frontline human rights defenders.

Eligible students are eligible to apply for internships at ICNL , which works on the legal framework for civil society and democracy in 100 countries.

By the end of the semester, you should have the ability to:

Analyze international law governing the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression;
Evaluate the extent to which national legislation complies with international law;
Craft arguments to bring national legislation closer to international law and good practice;
Communicate effectively with diplomats, government officials, and civic activists;
Analyze ethical aspects that arise in crafting laws that affect the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression; and
Assess the impact of law on nonprofit organizations, social movements, and protests.

LAW 1646 v00 Global Tech Law: Comparative Perspectives on Regulating New Technologies

From AI to robots to social media, countries around the world are racing to regulate new technologies. Regulation is the principal mechanism to bring technology within an enforceable ethics framework. Will international competition create a race to the bottom to promote innovation at the expense of consumer protection? How can nations nurture their own Silicon Valleys consistent with their ethical values? We will examine how the same technology--from internet platforms, to algorithms, to drones, to self-driving cars, to smart cities, to sharing platforms --is regulated in various jurisdictions across the world. As countries across the world race to become the world's leader in artificial intelligence, how are they modifying their laws for a world of automated decision-making? What can countries or states or cities learn from each other? Just as there are technological network layers, there are regulatory layers: What is the proper regulatory layer for any particular technology or activity—the nation, the region, or the globe, or even city or state? In an era of unprecedented technological change, how we choose to regulate technology is more important than ever.

LAW 565 v00 Globalization, Work, and Inequality Seminar

A backlash against globalization has emerged in advanced economies as a result of job loss, wage stagnation, precarious work and economic insecurity for the middle class. The liberal globalization of the last three decades is under attack for the unequal distribution of its gains and its failure to provide better opportunities for ordinary working people. Reimagining the global economy will require placing work front and center. This seminar will explore the changing nature of the workplace due to global competition and technological change. It will examine important policy debates about how best to create jobs, improve working conditions, and promote economic growth and well-being. We will analyze how a variety of factors, such as new modes of production and technologies, increasing participation of women in the economy, widespread migration flows, increasing global trade and capital mobility, and the rise of informal economies challenge the assumptions underlying traditional labor and employment regulation in both developed and developing countries. We will consider an array of innovative attempts – national, international, transnational, public, private and mixed -- to improve workplace conditions and assure employment opportunity consistent with economic growth and stability. We will also inquire about the moral and political commitments associated with various approaches. There are no prerequisites. All students are welcome.

LAW 2037 v00 Health Information Technology and the Law

Health care decision-making and innovation are increasingly driven and made possibly by vast stores of data. The importance of data has created an inevitable push-pull dynamic between concerns for confidentiality and demands for medical progress and cost containment. Data is both a privacy risk and a tremendous asset. This course will explore the legal and ethical issues at the intersection of health information, including where data comes from, how it is and should be protected, how it can be used, and risks to its integrity and security. In doing so, this course will cover a range of topics including health information privacy, future use of data assets, and conflicts of interest.

LAW 1403 v00 Hot Topics in Antitrust

Antitrust is dynamic. In regulating business strategy, competition law is only as effective as its understanding of each industry’s idiosyncrasies. Novel business practices reflect changing technologies, market conditions, and strategies. Antitrust lawyers do not simply master doctrine. Fluent in the basic principles of antitrust law and economics, they understand industry conditions and the enforcement agencies’ agendas. Above all, they stay abreast of cutting-edge developments in the law.

This seminar bestows that understanding. We will discuss today’s most hotly debated antitrust questions, explore how foreign jurisdictions’ competition laws and enforcement ideals deviate from U.S. practice, and delve into the industry-specific issues that arise in fields ranging from healthcare to wireless technology.

Major points of focus include the evolving relationship between antitrust law and intellectual-property rights. We shall discuss post-Actavis issues in the pay-for-delay space, including no-authorized-generic promises by pioneer-drug manufacturers and whether the continuation of infringement litigation immunizes a reverse payment. Outside of the life sciences, urgent questions involve antitrust limits on IP aggregation by patent-assertion entities and practicing firms. Further, when does a “privateering” agreement between a practicing entity and a PAE implicate competition law? Does the owner of a standard-essential patent violate antitrust law in seeking to enjoin a technology user despite its prior assurance to license on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms? We shall also address antitrust limits on patent licensing and refusals to deal. Agency guidelines overseas, such as in China, and enforcement actions in Asia more broadly hint at the direction of international antitrust in this area.

In the larger field of antitrust and technology, some commentators argue that big data and privacy may implicate competition policy. In 2016, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office accused Facebook of abusing its dominance based on privacy and big-data theories. Do those allegations hold water? A recurring problem in antitrust, which has emerged anew in the pharmaceutical industry, is predatory innovation. A separate development goes to the nature of actionable conspiracies where the lines between vertical and horizontal agreements become blurred. The Apple e-Books saga, which came to an end in March 2016 when the Supreme Court denied cert., has important repercussions for the law in this space. We shall also address the ongoing debate about the reach of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which allows the FTC to reach beyond the Sherman Act to condemn unfair methods of competition. The FTC’s controversial 2015 statement of enforcement principles on Section 5 features here, and we shall ask whether it makes sense that the Justice Department and FTC can subject firms to distinct liability standards. We shall touch on pending legislation, the SMARTER Act, which touches upon those issues. A critical antitrust issue that remains unresolved is the scope of Noerr-Pennington immunity. Finally, we will discuss contemporary issues in healthcare-merger oversight.

LAW 3118 v00 Information Operations in the Cyber Age: Law and Policy

LL.M Seminar | 2 credit hours

Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, the spread of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the threat of deep fakes have all increased government – and public – attention on the national security threats posed by both State and non-State actors use of information and disinformation. Whether referred to as propaganda, psychological operations, influence operations, or information warfare, States have used information to further their national security interests for many years.

While these activities are not new, cyber capabilities and modern communications technologies have increased both their reach and effectiveness. The use of data to micro-target audiences via social media, leveraging hacked and leaked information, the dissemination of non and misattributed messages to a mass audience, and the potential use of deep fakes all challenge current policy approaches and existing legal norms. This class will examine the U.S. domestic legal and policy issues, as well as the International legal issues, arising from the use of information and disinformation as an instrument of national power.

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives for the course are for students to:

Become familiar with how States use information as an instrument of national power, to include past use of propaganda and modern use of disinformation.
Appreciate how cyber capabilities have transformed the use of information by States, and the increased threats to national security posed by these activities.
Gain an understanding of the domestic and international law governing State informational activities, including the limitations faced by the US Government imposed by the Constitution and US federal law.
Understand the role of, and rules applicable to, private actors in monitoring and controlling online communication.
Understand how to analyze the different information activities and the applicable legal regimes.

LAW 342 v03 Information Privacy Law

This course provides an introduction to information privacy law both on the books and on the ground. Topics covered include the common law, constitutional, and statutory foundations of U.S. information privacy law; philosophical bases for privacy protection; first amendment constraints on privacy law; information privacy compliance, enforcement, and regulatory practice; the European approach to privacy and data protection; privacy constraints on law enforcement activities; cybersecurity; and cross-border data flows. Special attention will be paid to issues raised by the information economy.

Learning goals for this course: Critical mastery of the existing doctrinal, statutory, regulatory, and policy landscapes and the complex interrelationships among them; critical mastery of the privacy compliance considerations that confront both private- and public-sector organizations; introduction to European information privacy and data protection law and the relationship between privacy and global information flows.

LAW 1294 v00 Information Technology and Modern Litigation

This course builds upon the reality that what a lawyer must know about the influence information technology has had on litigation cuts across the traditional boundaries between law school courses and will deal universally with the impact information technology has had on the management and trial of criminal, civil and administrative cases.

The course will deal with all the topics usually encompassed in so-called e-discovery, such as the meet and confer responsibility, format of production, claw back of privileged information, Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, and preservation and sanctions. There will be a particular emphasis on the science of technology assisted review and its relationship to the reasonableness search and the implicit certification a lawyer makes under Rule 26(g) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by producing electronically stored information in response to a demand for it.

Throughout the course there will be practical exercises such as mock meet and confer or drafting and responding to a letter demanding the preservation of electronically stored information. The course will attempt to equip students with the practical ability to handle a case involving electronically stored information from its conception to trial.

Finally, the course will deal with the often ignored implications of electronically stored information for criminal cases. The manner in which law enforcement gathers information will be examined with a heavy emphasis on the constitutional implications of the collection of large amounts of data by law enforcement.

LAW 197 v00 Innovation, Technology, and International Financial Regulation

This course explores international finance and regulation as phenomena embedded in the concept of money. As such, it provides an overview of the theory of money, and then explores key financial and regulatory developments tied to it, including banking and banking regulation. A significant portion of the class will be spent exploring how these phenomena apply to digital assets, including native cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin), stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. The course also addresses the intersection of financial regulation and international monetary law by surveying the 2008 financial crisis, the European debt crisis, recent attempts to internationalize the renminbi, and the future of the dollar as an international currency.

LAW 233 v01 Intellectual Property and Medicines

This course examines the special legal and policy issues arising from the use of intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. The course will cover: (1) U.S. case law impacting intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyrights in drugs and biologics; (2) the interplay of the regulatory approval process for therapeutic products with intellectual property rights; (3) the Hatch-Waxman Act and its impact on how patent rights for pharmaceuticals are procured and enforced ; and (4) major legislative developments affecting the use of intellectual property rights in the drug, biotechnology and medical device fields, such as the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 and the America Invents Act of 2011. Other topics may be included depending on current judicial or legislative developments. A background in biologics or pharmaceuticals is not required, although completion of a basic patent law or a food and drug law course is recommended.

Students will have the option of taking this course for either two or three credits. The three credit option will require a paper that satisfies the upperclass legal writing requirement in compliance with Law Center regulations. The two credit option will require completion of a final paper or of several shorter legal writing samples on student-selected or assigned topics.

LAW 1471 v00 Intellectual Property and Startup Law

This course explores key concepts of intellectual property, corporate, and securities law as applied to the startup business environment. We will examine the basic principles of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law. We will discuss the stages of the startup business cycle and evaluate the intellectual property, corporate, and securities issues relevant to each stage. This course explores the best practices and common mistakes of startups while pursuing intellectual property protection. Finally, the course focuses on client communication skills, including the clear articulation of complex legal problems to a startup client.

LAW 226 v00 Intellectual Property in World Trade

The knowledge, technological inventions, creative works and accumulated experience and expertise of the professional workforce increasingly drives the global economy. Unlike physical capital, this intellectual capital cannot readily be confined to the territorial setting of its origin. The development of cohesive norms to protect intellectual properties on a global basis has thus proven to be an enormous challenge. This course considers this effort by addressing the core international agreements governing intellectual property; norms and norm-making in the international intellectual property rights system; dispute settlement and the enforcement of rights; and tensions arising between intellectual property rights and distinct legal and cultural values.

LAW 2079 v00 International and Comparative Antitrust Law

More than a hundred countries have enacted competition laws and modeled their laws either on the U.S. or on the EU system. This course will focus on the U.S. and the EU antitrust regimes by comparing and contrasting their principles and procedures. Some other jurisdictions at the center of the international antitrust arena, such as China and Brazil, will also be discussed. This course will start with an overview of the institutional design and of the substantive standards applied by the FTC/DOJ in the U.S. and by the European Commission in the EU, and will then delve into various areas of antitrust law, with particular emphasis on cartels, horizontal and vertical restraints, abuse of dominance, and mergers. This course will also examine process and procedures in the U.S. and the EU, and consider practices that facilitate international cooperation in antitrust investigations.

Learning objectives:

Students attending this course (i) will receive an overview of the international dimension of the various areas of antitrust law (horizontal agreements; monopolization/abuse of dominance; mergers); (ii) will learn to compare and contrast antitrust principles and procedures of the two systems (EU and U.S.) that most have influenced antitrust laws and institutions around the world; (iii) will familiarize with new actors and current challenges of the international antitrust arena. As a result, students will learn how to navigate multi-jurisdictional antitrust matters.

LAW 780 v01 International and U.S. Customs Law

Whenever merchandise crosses an international border, it is subject to customs laws and procedures. And with the grow of international trade and commerce over the years, customs laws and procedures have become increasingly more internationalized, important, and complex. Therefore, knowledge of customs laws and procedures is important to the practice of international trade law.

This course will provide a basic introduction to the rules and principles relating to both international and U.S. customs laws and procedures. This will include an examination and review of those rules and principles relating to tariff classification, customs valuation, rules of origin, border enforcement of intellectual property rights and regional trading arrangements.

International efforts to facilitate trade and to harmonize and simplify customs laws and procedures will be examined and reviewed together with international organizations dealing with international customs laws and procedures (such as the World Trade Organization and the World Customs Organization).

Customs authorities are the guardians of national borders. The role of customs authorities in combating terrorism and criminal activity and in securing and safeguarding national borders will also be examined and reviewed.

There are no prerequisite courses required for this course.

LAW 820 v01 International Protection of Intellectual Property Through the WTO

LL.M Course | 2 credit hours

This course deals with international protection of intellectual property through the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the WTO agreements which cover intellectual property: the TRIPS Agreement, The Paris Convention and the Berne Convention. The course will also cover the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Dispute Settlement Understanding, which are essential in enforcing these agreements.

The course examines in detail the relevant U.S. law and how the extraterritorial application of these laws effects international enforcement of intellectual property. These laws are Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 which prohibits the importation of articles into the United States which infringe U.S. patents, trademarks, or copyrights, and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 which allows retaliation against foreign countries which impose unjustifiable or unreasonable restrictions against U.S. commerce.

The main WTO cases in intellectual property will be read and analyzed. These will include the cases on Sections 337 and 301, which have limited the United States’ ability to unilaterally affect intellectual property law. Other cases will include the U.S. – Cuba Havana Club case, the Indian Pharmaceutical case, the Internet Gaming case, the U.S. Musical Copyright case, the European Geographical Indication (GI) case, the Canada Pharmaceutical patent case, and the China Intellectual Property Violation case. The course will study the Doha Agreement, which allows the compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical patents to fight pandemic diseases particularly HIV/AIDS. Finally, the course will review any significant changes in trade law or existing trade agreements, particularly as relates to intellectual property, that may occur under the Trump administration

LAW 708 v00 International Trade, Intellectual Property Rights, & Public Health

This course will cover the interface between the intellectual property rights, international trade and public health, focusing in particular on the WTO TRIPS Agreement and subsequent decisions, including on the Covid-19 vaccines waiver. It will provide an introduction to the provisions of WTO agreements relevant to public health (other than TRIPS), and to the law and economics relating to IPRs and public health; it will cover the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement relevant to public health, and discuss the relevant disputes settled in the WTO. It will examine the background, content and implications of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health and of the subsequent TRIPS amendment implementing compulsory licensing for exports. It will devote a session to Covid-19 and infectious disease pandemics. It will also discuss the relevance of bilateral or regional free trade area agreements to the subject.

The course would study relevant national/regional implementing legislation, for example on compulsory licenses, and discuss use of the WTO export compulsory license provisions. In addition to the final paper, students will be graded on class participation, individual presentations and group exercises.

Finally, the course will also cover recent work on trade, intellectual property and public health in other intergovernmental organizations, in particular in the World Health Organization, including on-going negotiations of the pandemic treaty.

LAW 1626 v00 Internet Law

Everything we do, we do at least some aspect of it online. From commerce to speech, internet companies intermediate our daily activities. In the process, internet companies are changing how we live. Is the internet a free speech zone protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, or does it heed hate speech or political speech regulations from abroad? Can copyright law survive the worldwide copying machine of the internet? Is privacy dead when corporations know where you are and what you are doing nearly 24/7? Focusing on U.S. case law and statutes, this course examines the evolving law regulating internet enterprises.

LAW 3130 v00 Investigating Transnational Criminal Organizations & National Security Threats in Cyberspace

As a rule, investigating and prosecuting cybercrime is fraught with challenges. Ephemeral electronic evidence, international evidence-gathering obstacles, and anonymizing technologies can frustrate conventional law enforcement investigative techniques. Recently, distinctions between traditional cybercrimes and crimes committed by foreign actors with national security objectives have eroded, creating new investigative challenges: cybercriminals and national security cyber actors now both steal information for personal financial gain; nation-states have reportedly enlisted criminal organizations to act as their proxies to conduct cyber attacks against United States companies; and the tradecraft used by some nation-state actors includes tools and tactics commonly used by cybercriminals, such as botnets and ransomware. The intersection between conventional cybercrimes and national security crimes with a cyber nexus raises novel legal and policy questions involving the extraterritoriality of criminal statutes, the application of international data privacy regulations, and the boundaries of international legal cooperation. Furthermore, the burgeoning role of private actors in data breach response and cyber threat intelligence gathering are altering how cyber offenses are investigated.

This course will take a practical look at how U.S. federal law enforcement pursues investigations and prosecutions of sophisticated cyber threat actors using investigative and prosecutorial criminal tools that at times are augmented by national security authorities. It will furnish a background in criminal statutes that are the bedrock of electronic evidence gathering (e.g., the Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq.; the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.; and the Pen Register/Trap and Trace Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3121 et seq.); the substantive laws used to indict cyber actors (e.g., the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030); the constitutional questions raised by surveillance techniques used to gather domestic evidence against international actors; and national security issues that prosecutors confront when handling hybrid criminal cases (e.g., discovery issues associated with the use of national security authorities). Students in this class will learn how a federal case against transnational cybercriminals and national security cyber actors is built and the legal landmines that can surface while gathering evidence in "cyberspace."

No technical background is required to take this course, but you will be taught the basics of Internet technology to better understand how technology affects the application of certain criminal laws.

LAW 1714 v00 Labor Law and the Changing US Workforce Seminar

This is a 2- credit seminar examining modern day labor law interpretation and enforcement, with a particular focus on how the National Labor Relations Act, an eight decade old statute, is being applied to the 21st century workforce. This course will examine the application of National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to the private sector workforce under Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. This will involve a study of the uniquely described “gig” workforce, joint employer status, independent contractors, graduate students, contingent and immigrant workers and others. The course will explore the impact of working under modern business models, technological advancement, electronic communication and the effect of social media. We will examine the effectiveness of protections afforded to employees exercising their rights to address terms and conditions of employment, through their unions, and in non unionized workplaces by means of employee collective action. We will study how the Boards of several recent administrations applied the NLRA in this modern age. We will also examine how a change in administration has affected the way the NLRA is interpreted and enforced.

The course is organized into general topic areas; in each two- or three-week unit we will focus on a particular issue, such as:

statutory framework of the NLRA and its rights and limits
concerted activity for mutual aid and protection .
the cyber workplace: new technologies & challenges.
the “gig” economy, students, immigrants, contingent workers.
identifying who is classified as an employee and employer.

There are no prerequisites although labor law is recommended.

By the end of the semester, students should be able to do the following:

Demonstrate a general understanding of the impact that modern business models, technological advancement, electronic communication and changing administrations has on how laws are interpreted and applied to the modern workforce.
Recognize how the NLRB and other agencies charged with providing worker protections have changed over time and understand what has driven those changes.
Critically assess legal and historical scholarship on the NLRB and courts’ role in interpreting and enforcing the labor laws.
Critically assess the structure and intent of key elements of the NLRA and its effectiveness in the modern workplace.
Respond constructively to classmates’ questions, comments, and ideas.

LAW 1400 v00 Law and Business of Television

An in-depth study of television industry legal concepts, contracts, business structures and economic models, focusing on the role of the attorney in the development and production of television programs; the relationships among attorneys, agents and entertainment executives that govern television; the legal issues innate in the of development and production of television programs; and topics involving the distribution of television product in ancillary markets (such as digital media and the role of so-called “backend” profit accounting). Class will focus both on academic and theoretical underpinnings of legal and business concepts as well as practical practitioner/clinical points-of-view (including negotiations).

LAW 199 v03 Law and Regulation of Drugs, Biologics and Devices

This course explores the legal, regulatory and policy issues that shape the research, development, and commercialization of drugs, biologics, and medical devices in the United States. We will consider the history and role of federal regulation of medical technologies; legal and ethical issues in the development and testing of new therapies; managing incentives for innovation, including patent, regulatory and data exclusivity; tort liability and its function in the regulation of the life sciences industry; and other issues. We will explore these issues using real-world examples, including the government and industry response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAW 1469 v00 Merger Antitrust Law

This is a course on identifying and resolving antitrust problems that arise in mergers and acquisitions. Using case studies of contemporary transactions ranging from simple negotiated acquisitions to hard-fought contested takeovers, we will examine anticipating antitrust problems and identifying possible defenses and solutions at the early stage of a deal when information is typically scare, performing more detailed analyses when more information becomes available, organizing the prosecution/defense of a transaction, navigating the DOJ/FTC merger review process, anticipating and structuring consent decree settlements, litigating merger antitrust cases, and negotiating provisions in merger agreements to allocate antitrust risk between the parties. The case studies will include such recent high-profile transactions as Hertz/Avis Budget/Dollar Thrifty, Halliburton/Baker Hughes, Staples/Office Depot, American Airlines/USAir, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Anheuser-Busch InBev/Grupo Modelo, Anthem/Cigna, and Nielsen/Arbitron. The course will be sufficiently self-contained for students interested in business combinations who have not taken an antitrust course. There will be several short, graded assignments throughout the course and a five-hour, open book, take-home examination at the end of the course.

By the end of the course, a diligent student should be able to do the following:

Perform a preliminary merger analysis, spotting at a high-level both potential substantive issues and possible remedies, in common transaction scenarios involving public companies given only publicly available facts.
Describe the merger review process from the filing of an HSR premerger notification report through a preliminary investigation, second request investigation, and final arguments to the heads of the investigating agency. If the agency concludes that the deal has antitrust problems, be able to describe the process for negotiating consent decree relief.
Understand the major theories of antitrust harm that apply to mergers and acquisitions and the major types of defenses available to the merging parties and be able to apply them to an arbitrary transaction.
Structure a merger antitrust challenge (as the investigating staff) and a merger antitrust defense (as defense counsel) before the decision-making officials at the DOJ and FTC.
Anticipate and structure a consent decree remedy minimally satisfactory to the DOJ and FTC in light of their expressed concerns about a transaction.
Describe the basic considerations and timing implications of litigating a merger antitrust case, the standards for granting preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, what the government and the merging parties each must show to prevail, and the allocation of the burden of proof (both persuasion and going forward) between the two sides, and the strategic and tactical implications of these factors to the prosecution and defense of a merger antitrust case in court.
Describe the legal and strategic significance of the antitrust-relation provisions in an Agreement and Plan of Merger (e.g., reps and warranties on antitrust-related consents and approvals, merger control and litigation conditions precedents, general efforts covenants, conduct of business covenants, merger control filing covenants, investigation and litigation cooperation covenants, shift-shifting covenants (including covenants to divest businesses or assets if necessary to avoid an agency challenge or settle a litigation), antitrust reverse termination fees, purchase price adjustments for divestitures, damages for breach of antitrust-related covenants, ticking fees, “take or pay” provisions, termination provisions).

LAW 3156 v00 National Security Cyber Law & Policy: Encouraging Responsible State Conduct in Cyberspace

The seminar will address the pernicious problem of malicious use of the Internet by States and the efforts both internationally and domestically to use law and policy to define responsible state behavior in cyberspace. Students will learn about the framework on Responsible State Use of ICTs developed in two United Nations cyber working group processes and will discuss U.S. and other countries’ domestic efforts to deter malicious state activity below the use of force, including the use of diplomatic, law enforcement, military, and economic tools.

Students will discuss the applicability to state cyber operations of international rules and principles, including sovereignty, non-intervention, and the prohibition on the use of force, and will consider the thresholds under the law of state responsibility for potential response options, including the differences among unfriendly acts, retorsions, and countermeasures. The class will also explore the concept of due diligence. In an interconnected world, a state’s failure to act—whether to secure its own systems or to take steps to address malicious activity that is emanating from its territory—can also be destabilizing. The class will consider several contexts—hacking by non-state malicious actors, disinformation on social media, and poor private sector cybersecurity—and discuss whether there is a requirement or expectation for states to ensure that information and communications technology infrastructure in their territory is not used to inflict significant harm on another state.

LAW 972 v03 National Security Law

This introductory, survey course will explore national security law as developed from the U.S. Constitution, relevant federal statutes, case law, and historical experience, as well as from principles and influences of international law and foreign relations. It will cover key components of, and debates over, the Federal Government’s exercise of national security authorities, including: decisions to use force and how to employ it; detention and interrogation of combatants; collection, protection, and sharing of intelligence; military and civilian prosecutions for national security-related criminal charges, including terrorism, espionage, export control, and state-sponsored cybercrimes; civil litigation involving national security interests and concerns; protection of homeland security; and economic aspects of national security policy. Themes of the course will include: (1) the separation of powers among the three branches of the Federal Government, and appropriate roles for these branches in the conduct of national security activities; (2) the interplay between international law and domestic law; (3) textual, historical, and functional modes of legal argument as applied to national security issues; and (4) the evolution of modern warfare and its implications for relevant legal regimes.

Course Goals/Student Learning Outcomes:

This course will provide students with exposure to the broad reach of modern national security law in the United States, and the many as-yet unresolved and knotty legal, policy, practical, and moral issues that arise as the Government strives to protect national security, while preserving the generally free and open society that most U.S. persons expect. Students will examine with a critical eye the justifications offered for, and scope of, security-based governmental actions, while considering practical alternatives and results.

The student learning outcomes will be the following:

Analyze current and emerging issues in national security law, and understand the policy arguments underlying the balance of ensuring security and protecting individual rights
Assess the justifications offered for, and scope of, security-based governmental actions
Examine the effects that national security measures have on individual rights of U.S. citizens and non-citizens, and on U.S. institutions, norms, and governance.

LAW 1151 v00 National Security Lawyering Seminar

This course will examine the substantive, ethical, moral, procedural, and practical challenges of practicing national security law in the government. Government national security and foreign affairs lawyers have significant influence on operational and policy decision-making, but generally encounter fewer external checks and less oversight than lawyers in other areas. Because of threshold doctrines such as standing and political question, courts address national security legal questions relatively rarely. There are few timely, formal checks in the area of international law, which develops over time and by consensus and often lacks a direct enforcement mechanism. In addition, much of the subject matter about which national security lawyers provide advice is classified, which can limit the scrutiny of legal analysis by Congress, the press, and the public. Therefore, national security lawyers, who provide advice on what are often extremely high stakes and difficult legal issues, shoulder a great deal of responsibility to carry out their roles ethically and effectively.

The course will use case studies and hypotheticals to explore these important challenges. Students will discuss a variety of issues, including: the players and process of national security legal decision-making; flexibility, constraint, and accountability for the national security lawyer; the challenges in providing balanced advice; whether and when it is appropriate to “push the envelope” on legal advice; the impact of secrecy on legal advice and decision-making; the importance of transparency about national security legal advice and why it is so difficult; prosecution, litigation, and national security; the appropriate role of lawyers and the law in the national security policymaking process; lawyering when the law is not developed; and the challenges and responsibilities of lawyering during war and other national security crises.

Students will be graded on several short reaction papers and one longer final paper. Class discussion will also be considered in grading.

LAW 3148 v00 Negotiating Durable International Business Contracts

As firms from developed countries expand overseas, there is a growing demand for lawyers able to negotiate two types of contracts of increasing importance worldwide: contracts governing international joint-ventures and contracts governing investment by firms in countries other than their own, in particular in developing countries.

The purpose of this experiential course is to make it possible for LL.M. students to acquire the practical knowledge and to hone the skills needed to serve effectively in teams negotiating such contracts.

To this end, the course will be structured around three simulated negotiations of increasing difficulty:

A simulated negotiation focused on the international licensing of a medical technology, because the transfer of technology is an increasingly important dimension of international joint-ventures and of foreign investments.
A simulated negotiation focused on the formation of an international joint-venture to produce and commercialize green hydrogen based upon a new technology.
A simulated negotiation focused on an investment by a firm from a developed country, into an oil-rich developing country, to make it possible to transform gas currently flared, a major source of pollution, into non-polluting products of significant commercial value.

For each simulated negotiation, the class will be divided into two teams that will negotiate with each other. The composition of the teams will differ for each simulated negotiation. During the simulated negotiations, each student will serve at least once as spokesperson for her/his team, engaging the other team on specific issues. After each simulated negotiation, the students who were not spokespersons will draft a memorandum of understanding summarizing what the parties agreed upon.

By the end of the course, the students:

Will have gained an understanding of: a) the main issues that arise in the negotiation of each type of contract mentioned above (international joint venture; foreign direct investment), and b) the usual contractual ways to address such issues.
Will have honed three main types of skills: a) analysis skills required to design contracts that help both parties in a negotiation reach key strategic objectives; b) interpersonal skills required to constructively engage the other side during a negotiation; and c) writing skills needed to prepare memorandums of understanding (MoUs) that will be a solid basis for the drafting of durable contracts.

LAW 1429 v00 Patent Appeals at the Federal Circuit

J.D. Seminar | 3 credit hours

This seminar will teach you the mechanics, strategy, and process of filing, briefing, and arguing a patent appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, from the initial notice of appeal through requests for rehearing. We will also provide an in-depth look at the Court, common issues that arise during appeals, and best practices for crafting effective briefs and presenting oral argument. In lieu of an exam, each student will write a shortened appellate brief and present oral argument before a panel of appellate judges and/or practitioners, for an invaluable hands-on opportunity to practice the skills and theories we discuss. As part of the process, we will also meet with you one-on-one to provide feedback on your draft briefs, which will total between 6,500 and 7,500 words and are intended to fulfill the upper-level writing requirement.

LAW 332 v04 Patent Law

The patent law is a regime of private regulation, initiated by individual inventors and resulting in proprietary interests in an increasingly ambitious range of human endeavor. This course provides a thorough review of the requisites of patentability, including eligible subject matter, utility, novelty, nonobviousness and disclosure. It then turns to patent enforcement issues, including claim interpretation, the doctrine of equivalents and remedies. Most inventors seek to obtain proprietary rights in multiple jurisdictions, so the course includes considerable coverage of comparative and international patent law. A traditional technological background is neither required nor recommended as a prerequisite to enroll in this course.

LAW 332 v05 Patent Law

This course is designed for those who intend to specialize in the intellectual property field. It includes an analysis of trade secret law, inventorship and ownership of inventions, subject matter eligible for patenting, requirements for valid and enforceable patents, patent claim construction and direct and indirect patent infringement. The Advanced Patent Law Seminar is recommended to complete the student’s overview of patent law.

LAW 333 v02 Patent Licensing

Patent licenses achieve different business objectives in a range of settings. This seminar first covers patent licensing and related agreements in establishing a company’s intellectual property from start-up through later growth phases. We then probe the role of patent licensing to transfer technology in and out of a company or university and in relations with others in the marketplace. We examine the elements of a patent license in detail. Limits on patent licensing and practice imposed by supply chain considerations, antitrust law, misuse, and connections with settlements are analyzed. Finally, we look at legal principles and strategies that impact patent licensing in several sectors of a knowledge-based economy. These sectors include biotechnology, software, standards setting, and patent assertion entities in the secondary IP market. We look at patent licensing in current open innovation and IP-enabled business models too. Guest speakers will also be drawn upon for specific topics. Students will complete an in-class negotiation and license drafting assignment. A cumulative final take-home exam will be given.

LAW 387 v01 Patent Prosecution Practice and Strategy

This skills and writing course will focus on the practical and strategic aspects of patent preparation and prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the effects of prosecution decisions on patent enforceability. Claim drafting and responding to Office Actions with an eye towards enforcement will be a primary focus, and both will be addressed with short practical writing assignments. Coverage of the appeal process will include preparing a final written Appeal Brief (in compliance with 37 CFR § 41.37) and making oral arguments before a mock panel of Administrative Law Judges. Among other topics, the strategic use of the post issuance reissue, reexamination and post-grant review procedures, especially in anticipation of litigation, will also be addressed. Given the range of competencies covered and type of work assigned, this course is recommended for students who intend to practice patent or IP law.

LAW 1227 v00 Payment Systems: Law, Technology, and Policy

Payments are the most ubiquitous type of transaction: every movement of money is a payment. This course introduces students to the technologies used to move money in domestic and international transactions and the law governing such transactions. The course provides students with an in-depth look at the major consumer and business payment systems: cash, checks, debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, automated clearinghouse transactions, cryptocurrencies (focused on Bitcoin and Ether), and peer-to-peer systems like PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. For each of the payment systems, the course explores how federal, state, and private law and technology determine (1) risk allocation for fraud and error, (2) speed and finality of payment, (3) privacy of payments (including anti-money laundering regulations), (4) the effect of making payment on contractual and tort obligations, and (5) the cost and cost-allocation of effectuating payment. Particular attention will be given to the key policy debates regarding payments.

LAW 1360 v00 Policing in the 21st Century: Law Enforcement, Technology and Surveillance

J.D. Seminar | 2 credit hours

Government agencies have broad powers to act for the public good. This includes the ability to investigate individuals and organizations and to conduct surveillance about their activities, a capacity strengthened by recent technological advances. But the ability to perform these functions is limited by various constitutional protections, including the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and various statutory laws.

This course will explore the intersection of contemporary surveillance practices with the need to safeguard civil liberties. The course will place special emphasis on the ways in which surveillance is used to control and manage populations of people, the intersection between mass incarceration and surveillance, and the communities that experience the greatest degree of scrutiny. Throughout the course, we will investigate how race, faith, national origin, immigration status, penal status, class and other categories fundamentally shape who is being watched and why.

The course will begin with an exploration of privacy law and the limits that apply to surveillance practices, both electronic and non-electronic. We will examine free speech and freedom of expression under the First Amendment, search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, and relevant statutory and regulatory laws. We will then explore an array of surveillance and policing practices.

We will also discuss how lawmakers, advocates and local communities are pushing back against overreaching policies, and situate these calls for reform amidst broader social and political movements, including Black Lives Matter. Our texts will include a variety of sources ranging from case law, legal scholarship, government manuals, and coalition letters to podcasts, TED Talks, and investigative journalism.

Learning Objectives:

1. Introduce some of the major issues in state surveillance, law enforcement, and privacy, and critically examine different approaches to these issues;

2. Test our approaches against current and rapidly developing surveillance practices, both electronic and nonelectronic;

3. Explore the intersection between mass incarceration and surveillance, and the war on crime and the war on terror;

4. Understand how surveillance practices are used to profile and monitor particular communities, including on account of race, faith, national origin, immigration status, penal status, class and other categories;

5. Examine different methods for challenging surveillance; 6. Anticipate the durability of these methods going forward.

LAW 361 v10 Professional Responsibility: The American Legal Profession in the 21st Century: Technology, Markets, and Democracy

This class considers lawyers’ professional responsibilities through the lens of legal practice in the 21st Century. During the last decade, economic forces and the emergence of new technologies have roiled the legal services sector. At the same time, the pandemic has exposed an ever-deepening crisis in access to civil justice, experienced by a large portion of Americans. Meanwhile in the political sphere, lawyers have been enlisted in the service of anti-democratic forces that threaten the rule of law. The course will be devoted to discussing what these trends mean for the regulation of lawyers and law as a profession. This course satisfies the professional responsibility requirement, but is not intended to prepare you for the MPRE.

LAW 2054 v00 Regulation of Commodities and Derivatives Markets

This course will focus on US federal and state laws and regulations affecting commodities ( e.g. , energy, GHG emissions, agriculture, metals, forex, cryptocurrency) and the related derivatives ( i.e. , swaps, futures, and options) markets. Topics include: (1) overview of the origins of derivatives and commodity trading generally; (2) the concepts of hedging and speculation; (3) the evolution of the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936 (CEA); (4) the current jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the post-Dodd-Frank world; (5) application of commodity trading and derivatives statutes, regulations and Congressional proposals for new products, such as bitcoin, blockchain and other FinTech innovations; (6) analysis of energy and emissions-based derivatives as well as ESG and climate change mitigation policies; (7) discussion of recent developments in exchange trading, such as De-Fi and event contract trading; (8) registration and regulation of market participants, such as brokers, hedge fund operators, investment advisers, swap dealers, cryptocurrency intermediaries; (9) administrative and injunctive enforcement powers involving violations of the CEA; (10) current developments in self-regulatory oversight; (11) documentation of derivatives (e.g., ISDA) and commodity transactions; and (12) foreign market access to commodity and derivatives trading and developments in the EU and Asia.

Students who complete this course will have a solid understanding of the CEA and CFTC’s rules and regulations under the CEA as well as federal relevant cases. In addition to learning the black-letter law, the students will learn how derivatives and commodities markets work in the US and overseas and how securities, energy, emissions, agricultural and financial markets interact with these markets. Through a series of in-class exercises culminating with the final paper students will develop their research, analytical and writing skills.

LAW 940 v00 Securities Law and the Internet

The Internet has become more important than ever to today’s investors. Similar to the change ATM machines brought to retail banking, the Internet has now given Investors the ability to trade without human interaction. Over the last several decades this change has dramatically reduced transaction costs (commission and time), but securities regulators must constantly play catch up. Consequently, in the area of securities, investments, finance and commerce, the Internet can often seem akin to the Wild West, with the pioneers and entrepreneurs struggling within an uncharted territory of the securities laws. This course focuses on four important areas of concern for the securities lawyer: offerings conducted over the Internet, including via more opaque SPAC vehicles, and the impact of the 2012 JOBS Act; trading facilities and market centers operating over the Internet and the increasingly dark market; giving investment advice over the Internet and the importance of social media; and SEC Enforcement issues and the Internet. This course covers the nuts and bolts of the securities laws in each of the areas, and then applies existing statutes, rules and regulations to ongoing Internet activities. Finally, we will explore the growing debate over the current and potential increased regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and how various regulators fall into the existing regulatory framework.

LAW 1746 v01 Social Media Law

This course offers an understanding of social media law in the face of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, extended reality, and blockchain. For the first time in history, anyone with an internet connection can speak and be heard across the globe in seconds, by audiences of one to one million. Traditionally in-person activities are going digital, as the Super Bowl held a virtual halftime show with Saweetie, and South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol generated huge campaign buzz with his avatar AI Yoon. User-generated content is also changing, as generative AI companies like Midjourney and ChatGPT can turn you into Frida Kahlo or Shakespeare with just a written prompt. This is only the beginning—haptics will allow users to physically feel their online interactions, while companies like Meta and Google are experimenting with AI that interprets brain waves. In this course, we will examine these developments through a legal lens, discussing issues like Section 230, the First Amendment, antitrust, and privacy laws. Students will also leave the course conversant in the economic and policy considerations that frame regulatory discussions in the space, including platform business models, the creator economy, and national security concerns. As social media and the internet increasingly swallow all aspects of public life, lawyers of all stripes will need to tackle the new challenges that arise. This course is an all-important first step.

LAW 1746 v00 Social Media Law Seminar

Never before have so many individuals had such a tremendous opportunity to access information, to engage with others, and to express their views on a global scale. Simultaneously, 24/7 online access means that actors can more easily manipulate networks, foment hatred, reach audiences poised to engage in violence, and spread false information. Platforms seemingly protected by the First Amendment, moreover, can be used to undermine and destabilize democratic systems and to radicalize and recruit adherents to violent causes. The risks to national security could be profound.

Does the government have the right to remove content from these sites? Can it require the same of private actors? What should the role of the platforms themselves be in light of the enormous political, social, and economic implications of restricting—or failing to restrict—online speech and association? What options are there for dealing with false, misleading, or manipulative information? What are the risks posed by the different courses of action? How should we think about traditional areas of the law, such as antitrust, when agreement among social media providers results in effective de-platforming of certain individuals and views? What are the privacy implications of micro-targeting and social media evolution in the advertising and marketing arena? And what happens when effective targeting is moved to a political realm?

The issue is far from static: technology is catapulting social media forward at warp speed. 5G and 6G networks will make it possible to deploy online experiences previously cabined to science fiction. A number of apps such as Snapchat, have integrated real time digital overlay features, as augmented reality (AR) blends the digital and 3-Dimensional world. Apple has deployed Quick Look AR that allows customers to “see” products in AR, interact with others, and buy the products directly. Users already can build virtual worlds, in games such as Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnight, and Second Life. Niantic is now taking it to the next level, developing what it calls full-world AR, leveraging Pokemon GO to crowdsource data to generate 3D space. Google glasses and Facebook Smart Glasses transform AR to a feature of daily 3D interaction. These devices allow companies to collect engagement metrics and to use them to further target users.

The move to virtual reality will be even more profound. Patents have been filed for collecting biopotential signals, tracking muscle and eye movements to re-create individuals’ expressions and actions in an online environment. Others allow users to feel digital images in a 3D world, integrating the experience. The recording of what is done in the VR allows users to share the experience with others, even as hardware attached to other users will be able to mimic the experiences of the original user. How should we think about brain computing and online actions in light of criminal law?

In short, how should we think about social media in light of the current constitutional, statutory, and regulatory environment?

This course begins with a deep dive into technology and the business of social media before turning to First Amendment doctrine and contemporary social media cases. It then looks at issues related to misinformation and disinformation and electoral manipulation, with a particular emphasis on Russian and Chinese practices in regard to social media.

The course mixes traditional lecture background with Socratic exchange and intense debates. Students taking it for 2 credits (either p/f or for credit) will draft 8 1-page, weekly response essays for the readings. Students taking it for 3 credits will have the opportunity to develop a longer paper with the aim of developing a law review article that could be submitted for publication. Those students will also have the chance to present their work to the class for feedback.

Learning outcomes :

As a result of taking the course, students will be able to:

articulate the opportunities and risks presented by social media;
ascertain ways in which online platforms challenge our traditional understanding of the First Amendment;
analyze how criminal law provisions apply to the online environment;
identify the privacy concerns at stake in new and emerging technologies and discuss how they fit within prominent paradigms, such as the DGPR and CalECPA;
discuss the application of antitrust measures to deplatforming and verification regimes;
advance a legal position, identify the strongest counter-arguments, and respond; and
advocate ways in which the doctrine should evolve to take account of the rapidly-changing world in which we live.

LAW 406 v00 Space Law Seminar

This seminar addresses the international and domestic laws governing outer space. Class discussion will include issues such as: liability for damage caused by space objects, use of outer space resources, rescue of astronauts and return of objects launched into outer space, environmental issues in outer space, and other more specific topics such as NASA and the International Space Station, commercial space operations, U.S. Government agencies involved in outer space, and the role of the United Nations in outer space.

LAW 4001 v00 State Cyber Operations and Responses

This course will examine the applicable international and domestic law to State actions in cyberspace, including affirmative State actions such as intelligence collection, information warfare, and cyber effects operations; the responses by victim States and entities; and responses by private actors in the United States. The course will specifically delve into the international legal regimes pertaining to State sovereignty and the United Nations Charter; draft Articles of State responsibility and the doctrine of prohibited intervention; responsive actions under the doctrines of countermeasures, retorsion, and reprisal; and the application of the Jus-In-Bello. Additionally, the course will review current U.S. domestic law governing both actions by the U.S. government in cyberspace, whether in offense or defense, as well as limitations on response options by private entities. These legal and policy regimes will be explored through historic case studies and hypotheticals with a focus on analysis of those areas where there are competing views and interpretations. Students will assess the various legal and policy regimes through the lens of multiple actors, both States and non-States, with constantly evolving and advancing technology.

LAW 1630 v00 Strategic Responses to Data Breach: "We've Been Hacked!"

This hands-on course will explore the fast-paced, high-stakes field of data breach response. Data breaches wreak havoc at organizations of all shapes and sizes in both the public and private sectors. From hospitals and financial institutions to military installations and civilian government agencies, entities face sophisticated adversaries and a diverse range of threats. Few organizations are prepared to manage and respond to an incident. This lack of preparation and experience can turn an already high-pressure event into a full-scale crisis.

Legal experts who can provide clients with sound advice and pragmatic guidance are in high demand but there remains a dearth of lawyers with the relevant training and experience to navigate the barrage of issues that surface following an incident. This course examines the full range of challenges and questions that counsel may face, from legal compliance to risk mitigation and reputational damage.

The course will introduce the subject, focusing on the types of breaches organizations may experience and some basic technical issues. The overview is followed by a deep dive into the myriad legal issues that arise. Most notably, we’ll explore how different governments regulate breach response activities and the challenging patchwork of requirements. Other issues include: mitigating the risk of liability and potential litigation; coordinating with law enforcement; working with human resources; and examining contractual and other obligations of third parties. The course then turns to a dizzying array of policy and strategic issues: public relations and communications; government affairs; managing the investigation; coordinating with technical teams; assessing risk to potentially impacted individuals; and effective breach notification. Real world scenarios and actual data breaches will be used and referenced throughout the course to illustrate different points. By the end of the course students should be able to enter the job market prepared to develop and execute a comprehensive data breach response strategy.

Understand the legal and regulatory framework that governs data breach response in the United States and other jurisdictions.
Appreciate the importance of establishing and following clear policies for addressing a data breach.
Be prepared to pivot back and forth between the legal and practical functions necessary to address a serious incident.
Be able to manage a data breach response team composed of a range of stakeholders with potentially inconsistent priorities.
Tailor response strategies to different types of data breaches from a lost laptop or an insider threat to the exfiltration of sensitive data by organized crime.
Learn how to identify, assess, and mitigate the risk of harm to potentially impacted individuals as well as to the organization itself.
Become comfortable with making high-stakes decisions in short time frames and with incomplete information.

LAW 1348 v00 Strategically Managing Intellectual Property: A Study of IP in Business Transactions

The class will address the need for companies and individual creators to strategically manage their intellectual property assets. Students will study approaches to managing patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets through the spectrum of activities including creation and ownership of intellectual property; its acquisition, sale and license; due diligence and disclosure issues; protection and enforcement of rights; and litigation. The class will cover case law and real world business dynamics and provide students with insights into the role and responsibilities of in-house counsel and outside lawyers in this process. As part of the course, there will be an assignment of a corporate case study project to teams of at least two students. It will involve communication with legal representatives from the companies in the study project who have agreed to be available to the students.

Students will be evaluated based on class attendance and individual class participation; team participation and completion of team written and oral presentations related to the corporate case studies; and written assignments including a final individual paper.

By the conclusion of the course, students will have the ability to apply intellectual property law effectively in business situations and also gain experience with some of the skills necessary in counseling business executives, inventors and others about their intellectual property assets.

LAW 1706 v00 Surveillance and Civil Rights (Fieldwork Practicum)

J.D. Practicum | 6 credit hours

If you have ever taken advantage of basic government services, your personal information is part of a massive trove of data that local, state and federal agencies share with one another through a variety of overlapping networks, databases and bureaucratic collaboratives. Large corporations also build and sell their own datasets to government agencies, along with powerful technologies -- like face recognition and automated license plate readers -- which operate on that data.

This surveillance infrastructure has been built over the course of the last 30 years, for the most part without any oversight or accountability, let alone transparency to the public. At the same time as we seem to be arriving at a moment of socio-political consensus about the need to fundamentally rethink our most brutal systems of social control, we are also on the verge of the total suffusion of these other invisible systems of coercion in our lives.

In this fieldwork practicum, students will be placed at one of several non-profit organizations working to expose and mitigate the impact of mass surveillance on historically marginalized communities. Potential hosts include national, regional and local organizations that focus on surveillance as an aspect of mass deportation and mass incarceration. Projects may include legal and policy research, litigation support, report writing, legislative drafting and analysis, public records requests, and oral advocacy with state and federal policy makers.

Weekly seminars will alternate between case rounds, where students workshop questions and problems drawn from their field work, and discussions based on assigned readings. Assigned readings will focus on (1) substantive legal and policy questions related to surveillance and civil rights, and (2) ethical and political questions related to the practice of law in contexts of social injustice.

Through seminar and fieldwork, students can expect to engage deeply with questions such as:

Where does the authorization for large scale surveillance by federal immigration authorities come from? Do the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security authorizing statutes, or other federal and state surveillance statutes and case law, alone or taken together, actually provide legal grounding for the large scale, warrantless surveillance of immigrant communities?
What are the civil rights implications of DHS’s new mandatory DNA collection policy?
What are the Fourth Amendment protections for geolocation information post-Carpenter?
How does information sharing across law enforcement agencies nationwide actually happen and what policy interventions can communities impacted by over policing advocate for?
What is the extent of the federal government’s dependence on corporate surveillance and what are the political implications of that dependence?
What are some strategies for forcing corporate surveillance companies to disclose information about their products, practices, and contracts?
What does it mean to lawyer ethically in a context of radical inequality and political corruption?

And students will develop the following skills:

Creative techniques for researching surveillance technologies and the opaque procurement practices through which they are adopted;
Persuasive writing for policymakers and a general audience;
The ability to understand the administrative rules governing the deployment of complex federal technology systems;
Legislative analysis and drafting;
How to develop research strategies that can support community-led organizing and advocacy.

LAW 976 v00 Taxation of Intellectual Property

This course covers the tax treatment applicable to the development, purchases, sales, transfers, licensing, and valuation of intellectual property (IP), such as patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and computer software. It will begin with a brief introduction to the field of intellectual property for those unfamiliar with this area of law, along with the policies behind U.S. and foreign taxation of intellectual property. Specific tax areas then covered will include some or all of the following: the different tax treatment afforded to the development, acquisitions, and transfer of IP; cross-border IP transaction issues; transfer pricing considerations; and considerations relating to other non-federal areas of taxation.

Students should come away from the course with a substantial working knowledge of how IP is integrated into basic and advanced tax transactions, what are the hot areas for IP tax planning, and how to spot issues relating to IP assets in multinational organizational structures.

LAW 1656 v00 Technology and Election Integrity Seminar

This course will examine the security requirements for voting systems (particularly those used for civil elections in the United States), how various technology designs and implementations meet or fail to meet these requirements, and how such systems can be improved. The course will focus on the implications of various vote-casting technologies ("voting machines") as well as the "backend" election management systems and processes that define ballots, register voters, provision precinct equipment, and count and report vote tallies. While it will not be our main focus, we will also examine the interaction between modern social media and foreign and domestic influence operations aimed at affecting election outcomes.

We will devote particular attention to understanding how the legal framework and historical threat models for elections relate to specific technical requirements, how technical failures can affect election outcomes, and the limitations of various remedies when such failures occur. We will look at a range of formal and informal proposed designs for election systems, specific systems that have been or are currently in active use, and various studies that have been made of these systems and designs. The course will focus on technical security issues, but will also touch on usability, threat modeling, and legal and governance issues.

Our primary reference will be the 2018 National Academies study "Securing the Vote" as well as readings drawn from the technical, legal, and policy literature.

Student papers will focus on some issue at the intersection of technology and voting, depending on the specific background and interests of the student.

LAW 3170 v00 Technology and Society Impact Lab (Project-Based Practicum)

LL.M. Practicum | 3 credit hours

In this interdisciplinary, inter-school, interdepartmental, inter-campus, innovative course, students from across Georgetown work together in teams on high-impact projects aimed at bending the path of technological progress toward human flourishing, justice, and equality, and away from suffering, injustice, and bias. Students in the course will consult with and serve partners such as nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and individuals, selected to maximize both pedagogical value and societal and individual impact. Possibilities include organizations such as Upturn or the Center on Privacy and Technology; government agencies such as State Attorneys General; and individuals such as criminal defendants. Students in the course will develop, lead, organize, and execute hands-on projects with close guidance from the Professors and fellows.

The beneficiaries of the course will be: (1) the students, who will develop leadership, organization, and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills, subject matter expertise, and a humanistic orientation toward technology and society that will guide them throughout their careers; (2) the partners, who will benefit from the work the class produces; and (3) broader communities who will benefit from the impact we have on technology policy and law debates.

The course is open to students from across Georgetown University. It is open for enrollment by professor permission only. Prospective students interested in learning more or those ready to apply for a seat should email Jon Brescia at [email protected] . Several seats are reserved for students in the CCT Department and in the MLT degree program of the Law Center. Graduate students (Masters or Doctoral) are the intended audience. This is intended to be a graduate- and professional-level course and will not ordinarily be open to undergraduate students. In extraordinary circumstances, Seniors and Juniors of the Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences can apply for enrollment, subject to professor permission. Only undergraduates with direct relevant experience and faculty recommendations will be considered.

This is a three-credit course. Two credits will be awarded for the two-hour-thirty-minute weekly seminar and one credit will be awarded for approximately 5 hours of supervised project work per week, for a minimum of 11 weeks. Both the seminar and the project work will be graded.

SEMINAR: Students will meet for two hours, thirty minutes each week in a seminar format to discuss their project work and to develop a broader framework for thinking about issues at the intersection of law, technology, and policy. Because this is not a traditional law school course, not all of the seminar materials will be legal in nature. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLASS WILL MEET ACROSS TOWN ON MAIN CAMPUS! LAW STUDENTS SHOULD FACTOR IN THE COMMUTE ACROSS TOWN WHEN DECIDING TO APPLY FOR THIS COURSE . The course will meet in Car Barn 172.

PROJECT WORK: This will be an advanced and intensive course. Students will work closely in teams to conduct the research requested by our project partners, as shaped and elaborated by the professors. All students will produce a work-product portfolio. The portfolio will ask the student teams to reflect upon and write clearly about all of the following: (a) a concise summary of their findings; (b) a description of the history of prior work by others relating to the question explored; (c) a reflection on the impact of the findings for the work of their partner organization; (d) a reflection on the impact of the findings for the field in general; (e) a list of potential future follow-up studies, setting an agenda for future work by these same students or future students in the course.

LAW 1862 v00 Technology Law and Policy Colloquium: Content and Platforms

This course is a small, intense colloquium featuring outside speakers presenting scholarly works-in-progress.

The focus of this year’s colloquium will be legal and policy issues relating to, and stemming from, the intersection and interaction of laws regulating content (i.e., copyright, trademark, and rights of publicity), and the laws regulating content distribution platforms (like Amazon and Netflix), including social media platforms (like Twitter, Facebook, and Tik-Tok). Topics may include, among other things: competition, content moderation, fake news, artificial intelligence, revenge porn, attention markets, big data, privacy, anonymity and harassment, influencers, dark patterns, deep fakes, bots, memes, and online fandom.

Students are expected to (i) carefully read the speakers’ papers; (ii) prepare short (2-3 page) weekly response memoranda that will be provided to the speakers in advance of the colloquium session, and (iii) attend, and actively engage in, weekly, in-person sessions, including the preparation and asking of at least two questions per class meeting.

LAW 1698 v00 Technology Law and Policy Colloquium: Data, Algorithms, and Platforms

At this colloquium, outside speakers (typically faculty members or researchers from other institutions) will present their current works-in-progress. The focus of this year’s colloquium will be the legal and policy issues surrounding the shift to a networked environment organized around data, algorithms, and platforms. The research presented will explore a variety of current topics, such as: information privacy and data protection; competition in the platform economy; algorithmic fairness and transparency; the viral spread of fake news, hate speech, and revenge porn; online content moderation; the Internet of Things; sensor networks; automation and AI; and administrative frameworks for information economy governance. Students are responsible for reading the speakers’ papers, preparing short (2-3 page) weekly response memoranda that will be provided to the speakers in advance of the colloquium session, and attending each session prepared to ask at least one question. Students taking the seminar for WR credit additionally will write a 6000-word research paper.

Learning goals for this course: Close reading and critical interrogation of scholarly analysis and policy proposals regarding cutting-edge legal topics; refinement of analytical and writing skills.

LAW 1786 v00 Technology Law and Policy Colloquium: Digital Sovereignty

Countries are increasingly building borders in cyberspace. From the European Union's intense regulatory push to control internet companies, to Russia's desire to build a sovereign, alternative internet, to China's crackdown on its internet companies, to efforts across the Global South to change the terms of technological engagement, this seminar will hear from scholars and policy-makers working on contemporary efforts to regulate the global internet.

LAW 1824 v00 Technology Platform Governance in Global Perspective Seminar

This course will explore the political economy, governance, and legal regulation of global technology platform giants. After providing an introduction to the structure and operation of technology platforms, it will consider case studies from different parts of the globe that spotlight a range of current legal and policy problems, including, among others: content governance (including both content removal and content provision); privacy and data protection; internet access and digital inclusion; competition, consumer protection, and worker protection issues created by and within platform ecosystems; and platform entanglements with geopolitical and state security concerns.

LAW 3062 v00 The Essentials of FinTech Law

Nowhere have the recent changes wrought by technological innovation been more visible than in the financial industry. Algorithmic robots (algo bots) can scan the equivalent of thousands of pages of information and make trading decisions based on that material in fractions of a second. People who might not be able to afford a human financial advisor can get financial advice from robots by enrolling in a “robo-advisory” service to help manage their investments. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and initial token offerings (ICOs) have the potential to revolutionize the financial markets. Financial institutions are taking steps to use blockchains and distributed ledger technologies to clear and settle trades in financial instruments and other transactions in a manner that upends traditional processes in this area. Data about human behavior is being collected and used in ways that had not been imagined only ten or so years ago, from uncovering financial market trends via social media sentiment analysis to discerning the success of commodities businesses by scrutinizing satellite images.

"FinTech” is short for “financial technology,” and the term is broadly used to refer to technologies applied to financial services and within financial institutions. This course explores some of the complex, cutting-edge legal issues that are arising at the intersection of technological innovation, business, finance, and the law. The course will introduce several of the primary FinTech innovations and explore with students if, and how, the relevant laws and regulations apply to these new business models. This course provides a guided tour of the major legal and policy issues in banking, financial market regulation, insurance, business-entity law, and data privacy/protection that have resulted from FinTech innovations. Accordingly, much of the course involves looking at how the existing laws and regulations governing securities, derivatives (including futures and swaps), payment systems, and banking activities apply to innovative financial products and services.

LAW 1868 v00 The Four Pillars of Fashion Law

By introducing you to current issues in the global fashion industry, thereby allowing to you anticipate and address them, this course will prepare you to think and act as a trusted counselor to brands and designers. You will learn aspects of the law that arise throughout the life of a garment, starting with the designer’s original idea and continuing all the way to the consumer’s closet. During this course, we will analyze and discuss the changing nature of the fashion system and the opportunities it presents, focusing on the four pillars of Fashion Law: (1) intellectual property, (2) business and finance, (3) international trade and government regulation, and (4) consumer culture and civil rights.

LAW 1517 v00 The GDPR: Background, Development, and Consequences

This course provides an intensive introduction to the General Data Protection Regulation - the EU’s influential comprehensive data protection law. The class will review foundational Articles of the Regulation, background materials, and related EU law developments. The course explores the development of privacy law in the modern democratic state, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the Regulation including challenges for implementation and compliance, and examines the relationship to other emerging EU privacy laws.

The aim of this class is to provide:

A general understanding of the historical and political circumstances that gave rise to the adoption of the GDPR
A general understanding of the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation
A general understanding of current developments related to the GDPR, including the status of the EU-US Data Protection Framework
A focused understanding of key provisions in the GDPR, including collective actions, data protection impact assessments, algorithmic transparency, the role of supervisory authorities, and the creation of the European Data Protection Board
An introduction to related legal frameworks, including the Council of Europe Convention 108 (The "Privacy Convention"), the OECD Privacy Guidelines, and the OECD AI Guidelines
A brief introduction to regulatory theory, “ratcheting up,” and the “California/Brussels effect”
An examination of emerging issues including Artificial Intelligence and the EU AI Act

LAW 3065 v00 The Law and Ethics of Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics

Automated systems and artificial intelligence (AI) soon will be like electricity—an ever-present technology that enables many aspects of modern society to function smoothly while operating largely in the background. Internet-connected “smart” refrigerators and kitchen shelves in “smart” homes will order food items automatically, without human direction, when existing supplies are running low. Factories are increasingly becoming completely automated, operated by robots that can work 24-hours a day in the dark. AI even can handle tasks that are currently performed by doctors, attorneys, and human resources executives. For example, computer algorithms can diagnose illnesses in patients and review documents and contracts for legal and regulatory issues. AI systems can select the job applicants that firms call in for interviews, and then use facial recognition technology to analyze video-recordings of the interviews to determine which applicants were enthusiastic, bored, or dishonest. Automated systems already control much of the trading on stock and futures exchanges. Regular people who want investment advice and guidance can use their smartphones to enroll in AI-powered robo-advisory services that adjust investment strategies according to individual risk preferences. Algorithms used by online retailers decide what products to show people based on analysis of both the shopping habits of specific individuals and the behavior patterns of like-minded shoppers. Taxis of the future may very well be self-driving cars that are robot business entities that own themselves.

These radical changes in society will have significant implications for the legal system. Advances in AI will necessitate changes to laws and regulations, and even to how lawyers practice law. In this course, students will examine legal and ethical issues related to automated systems, AI, and robotics, which will involve analysis of topics in agency law, business entity law, contract law, and more.

LAW 1526 v00 The Law of Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are roiling industries as diverse as retail, food delivery, trucking, and personal transportation. Although there is a rising consensus that autonomous, networked cars could save tens of thousands of lives, there is a similar consensus that they also will create tens of thousands of accidents that human drivers would not. Although the technology for autonomous vehicles is already on the roads, the law, ethics, and policy governing these machines is late evolving. This course will examine alternatives for regulating autonomous vehicles, including topics such as which parties should bear responsibility for the actions of autonomous vehicles, how theories of responsibility will change over time, as well as the appropriate modes and agencies of regulation. Paper required.

LAW 1875 v00 The Law of Open Source Software

In this course, students will explore the relationship between open source software (OSS) and the law. OSS refers to a type of software whose source code is made publicly available, allowing anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute the software freely. Open source software makes up our digital infrastructure that we all use today across various industries, from web development and operating systems to AI and machine learning. Open source software is increasingly used to develop popular AI applications like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney.

This accessibility and openness encourage collaboration, innovation, and transparency, but also bring to the fore different harms that interact with the law. Indeed, many scholars, regulators, and entrepreneurs are concerned about how the open source nature and rapid adoption of such collaborative models interacts with harms such as discrimination, misinformation, bias and more. As the legal profession grapples with the increased role of OSS, students should be familiar with questions of legal compliance, intellectual property, contract and liability issues, data privacy and security, and ethical considerations as they relate to OSS.

This is a student-initiated seminar, which is student-led and supervised by a faculty member. This seminar is organized by Esther Tetruashvily and Ashwin Ramaswami and supervised by Professor Paul Ohm.

LAW 1019 v00 The Law of Public Utilities: Bringing Competition to Historically Monopolistic Industries

J.D. Seminar | 2-3 credit hours

Our major infrastructural industries—electricity, gas, telecommunications, transportation and water—were historically controlled by monopolies. Since the 1980s, efforts to introduce competition into these industries have met obstacles. Battles before legislative bodies, regulatory agencies and courts, at the state and federal levels, have produced a distinct body of law. That body of law—the law of introducing competition into historically monopolistic industries—is the subject of this course.

From the principles learned in the course, students have written papers on such diverse topics as renewable energy, internet, movie production, chicken slaughtering, student loans, pharmaceutical research, Uber, Flint's water crisis, utility corporate form, law school admissions, farms seeds and insecticide, Youtube, private space travel, rare minerals used in solar and wind facilities, Facebook, cloud storage, electric storage, and telemedicine at the VA. Some of these papers have made their way into professional journals or law journals.

Regardless of the industry or era, the regulation of infrastructural monopolies and their competitors has five common elements: its mission (to align business performance with the public interest); its legal principles (ranging from the state law on exclusive monopoly franchise to federal constitutional protection of shareholder investment); policy flexibility (accommodating multiple public purposes, from service reliability to environmental accountability to protection of vulnerable citizens); reliance on multiple professional disciplines (law, economics, finance, accounting, management, engineering and politics); and formal administrative procedures , such as adjudication and rulemaking.

Today, political challenges are causing policymakers to stretch regulation's core legal principles. Four examples of these challenges are: climate change (e.g., To what extent should we make utilities and their customers responsible for "greening" energy production and consumption?); universal service (e.g., Should we bring broadband to every home, and at whose cost?); privacy (How do regulators induce personal changes in energy consumption while protecting the related data from public exposure?); and protection of our infrastructure from hackers, terrorists and natural catastrophes .

Complicating these political challenges are two sources of constant tension: ideology (e.g., private vs. public ownership, government intervention vs. "free market"); and state-federal relations (e.g., Which aspects of utility service are "national," requiring uniformity; and which are "local," warranting state experimentation?).

This field has many jobs, as new issues emerge and as baby boomers retire. Lawyers play varied roles. They advise clients who are suppliers or customers of regulated services, represent parties before regulatory tribunals, advise those tribunals or their legislative overseers, and challenge or defend those tribunals on judicial review.

LAW 433 v00 Trademark and Unfair Competition Law

Learning Objectives:

Critical mastery of the existing statutory, doctrinal, and policy landscapes; critical mastery of strategic considerations in trademark and brand licensing and litigation, in technology ventures that implicate trademarks, and in trademark and unfair competition policymaking.

LAW 433 v01 Trademark and Unfair Competition Law

This course will introduce students to the federal Lanham Act and related common law doctrines designed to protect against consumer confusion and appropriation of commercial goodwill. In addition to the technical requirements for trademark eligibility, registration, and infringement, we will consider the constitutional and economic underpinnings of trademark protection and evaluate current trends toward the "propertization" of trademark law. We will also review and assess the reasons that trademarks can lose protectable status (e.g., becoming generic) and examine best practices in selecting, adopting and enforcing rights in trademarks. In addition to the final take-home exam, students will be required to write a mid-semester paper that will account for 25% of their final grade.

By the end of the semester, you should be able to:

Differentiate between trademark, copyright, patent and trade dress laws;
Identify what designations can function as trademarks and understand the requirements for trademark protection;
Assess the degree of protectability of trademarks depending on their distinctiveness;
Understand the requirement of “use in commerce” for trademark protection, and evaluate whether particular usages of trademarks meet that requirement;
Grasp the process of obtaining federal registrations for trademarks;
Analyze whether uses of junior trademarks infringe the rights of owners of senior trademarks ( i.e. , whether there is a “likelihood of confusion”);
Evaluate whether a trademark is famous, and whether uses of other trademarks constitute dilution of famous marks by either blurring or tarnishment;
Determine whether a trademark owner has lost its rights in the mark, either through abandonment or “genericide”;
Identify and make arguments concerning defenses to trademark infringement and dilution (e.g., “fair use”); and,
Articulate the interplay and conflicts between trademark law and the First Amendment.

LAW 962 v00 U.S. Export Controls and Economic Sanctions

Understanding and dealing with U.S. export control and sanction laws have become increasingly important skills for lawyers advising clients who compete in the global economy, including manufacturers, service enterprises, financial institutions, and companies licensing their technology abroad. This course surveys the federal laws and implementing regulations governing the export and re-export of goods, services, technology and software from the United States or by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction, the extraterritorial reach of re-export controls, prosecution strategies, restrictions on dealings with or in sanctioned countries, prohibitions against dealing with blacklisted parties, and other sanctions that apply to non-U.S. companies and individuals. We also will examine the policies underlying these rules, which are designed to address ever-changing and developing threats to the United States, including Russian aggression in the Ukraine, the nuclear threat posed by Iran, civil war in Syria, missile development in North Korea, and conventional military tensions between the United States and China.

The course is designed to impart the practical skill sets and strategies you will need to use and understand the complex regulatory regimes underpinning U.S. export controls and sanctions, and to communicate effectively with the relevant government actors. The applicable laws include statutes such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trading with the Enemy Act, Arms Export Control Act, the Export Control Reform Act, and regulations issued by federal agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State. Our study of these rules will include review of case law, agency guidance and prior government enforcement actions.

The course also will focus on the enforcement environment, including the trend of ever-increasing fines, the use of extradition, and imprisonment. We will discuss defense strategies and the potential for global settlements with the Departments of Justice, State, Treasury, and Commerce.

Finally, the course will emphasize developing the working knowledge necessary for hands-on practice and problem-solving in this field. In addition, the course will provide skills sets to assess proposed legislation and regulations in depth, as well as advocacy skills related to legislation and rulemaking.

LAW 962 v03 U.S. Export Controls and Economic Sanctions

Understanding and dealing with U.S. export control and sanction laws and regulations have become increasingly important skills for lawyers advising clients who compete in the global economy, including manufacturers, service enterprises, financial institutions, and companies licensing their technology abroad. This course provides an in-depth survey of the federal laws and implementing regulations governing the export and re-export of goods, services, technology and software from the United States or by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction, the extraterritorial reach of re-export controls, restrictions on dealings with or in sanctioned countries, prohibitions against dealing with blacklisted parties, and other sanctions.

The course is designed to impart the hands-on, practical skill sets needed by those who wish to practice in the increasingly in-demand area of export controls and sanctions compliance, including the skills needed to use and understand the various complex laws and regulations systems that implement U.S. export controls and sanctions, such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Arms Export Control Act, and the Export Control Reform Act, as well as regulations issued by various federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State.

This course also will provide the skill sets necessary to communicate effectively with licensing agencies, how to approach foundational determinations of agency jurisdiction and classification, and how these issues affect direct investment in the United States as regulated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Time permitting, the course also will focus on the civil and criminal enforcement environment, including the trends of ever-increasing fines and global settlements with the Departments of Justice, State, Treasury, and Commerce.

LAW 1477 v00 Video Games in the 21st Century: Creativity and Innovation in Action

This course is devoted to current legal and policy issues specifically relevant to the video game industry, a business sector that generated nearly $50 billion in revenue in the United States, and over $180 billion worldwide, in the last year alone. In class, we will look at video games as both software and audiovisual works and examine how intellectual property, contracts, and the Internet help shape and drive their creation and distribution. Current issues in First Amendment jurisprudence, consumer protection, privacy, and competition in the online marketplace will be discussed. A wide range of novel issues associated with new developments in media and technology, (i.e. esports, gametech, location-based gaming, and artificial intelligence) will be highlighted. This class will show how video games, which combine innovation with creativity, and are considered subjects of both commerce and art, continue to contribute to American life and culture.

Class participation is critical and counts as 25% of your grade.

What application materials are required? Information is available here .

Is tuition assistance available? Yes, please review the information available here . If you are interested in merit aid, please apply as early as possible.

I have another question about the application process or materials. Where can I find the answer? Frequently asked questions have been compiled and answered here by the Office of Graduate Admissions. If you do not see the answer to your question, please reach out to them here .

New York Bar

How can I meet the requirements of the Tech Law and Policy LLM and take the New York bar exam as a foreign-trained attorney? If you are trying to take the New York bar and complete the Tech Law & Policy LLM requirements, you must make sure that you obtain both the 14 credits you need in the Tech Curriculum and the New York bar's 12 required credits , unless you have confirmed with the bar that these credits are not required based on the specifics of your primary law degree. You must also be sure to take 24 credits, although only 20 credits are required by Georgetown to obtain your LLM degree.

What classes on the tech curriculum count toward the New York bar’s mandatory 12 credits? Administrative Law, Con Law II: Individual Rights and Liberties, Corporations, and Professor Rostain's Spring Professional Responsibility class count toward both sets of requirements.

Does this other class on the LLM curriculum count toward the New York bar’s mandatory 12 credits? Georgetown can only confirm that a class will count toward the New York bar's curriculum requirements if it is on this list of approved courses , so you can't assume that a course with a similar title or that covers a similar subject matter to a course on the list will count.

I have other questions about the New York bar exam. What should I do? Please review this page and reach out to the New York bar directly if you still feel unsure about the requirements.

Class Registration

What are the minimum and maximum number of credits I can enroll in? Part-time students can enroll in up to seven credits. Part time students can enroll in as few as one credit and maintain their active student status. Full time students must enroll in at least eight credits, and they can take up to 13 per semester. If you are an international student, your visa may have additional requirements, so please consult with your visa advisor before dropping below 10 credits per semester.

I saw a class in the curriculum guide but there is not a professor, date, or time listed. Is the class being offered? The curriculum guide contains all the classes that have been offered during the past three years, not only the courses scheduled for this year. To ensure you are looking at the classes being offered in a particular semester, please use the filter to limit your search to one semester only.

Capstone Requirement

How can I meet the Capstone requirement? Classes marked as practicum in the curriculum guide count for this requirement, as does the course Federal Advocacy in Technology Law and Policy. You can also use an approved externship for this requirement or a substantial paper from a seminar class, which would also require approval.

I want to use an externship to meet the Capstone requirement. What are the requirements ? LLM students may extern at companies, government agencies, non-profits, or law firms. To receive Tech LLM capstone credit, there needs to be a connection to technology law and policy in the day-to-day work you'll be doing. Once you have finalized an externship opportunity please get the Academic Program Director’s approval to use it as your capstone.

I want to do an independent study in an area of interest where there isn’t an available class, and I found a faculty member to supervise. What else do you need from me? Please confirm with the Academic Program Director that the independent study will be eligible for Capstone credit. Then please fill out the Graduate Independent Research form .

Transfers to the Tech LLM Program

I am a two-year LLM student at Georgetown Law. Can I apply to transfer to the Tech LLM? Students enrolled in Georgetown's Two-Year LL.M. with Certificate in Legal English for Foreign-Trained Lawyers program can apply at the end of their first year at Georgetown to transfer into the Tech LLM program for their second year. Space in the program is limited and admission cannot be guaranteed. The application is available here and is due on June 1. Applications are considered during the summer and are not reviewed on a rolling basis. Decisions will be communicated in July.

I am a one-year LLM student and was admitted to another LLM program. Can I apply to transfer to the Tech LLM? Applications to transfer to the Tech LLM from another LLM program are considered only if space in the cohort is available. Please reach out to [email protected] for information on whether applications are currently open.

Law, Science, and Technology Program of Study

With law often playing catch up to ever-changing technology, the study of how law interacts with science and technology is more critical now than ever before. The school’s offerings related to science and technology are grouped into four, often-overlapping clusters: Intellectual Property Law, Health Law, Internet Law, and Technology & Civil Liberties. A student might wish to explore the field broadly by taking courses from a number of these fields. Alternatively, a student might concentrate deeply on a particular area through classes, seminars, clinic, and experiences beyond the classroom.

The Law, Science, and Technology Program of Study seeks to guide students on how to best take advantage of Harvard’s unparalleled resources in this field, and to build a community of students and professors interested in the intersections between law and technology. The Program sponsors substantive talks and study groups, organizes events for faculty and student fellows to answer questions about career options, provides guidance regarding the wealth of opportunities in this space at Harvard, and hosts social events for students and faculty affiliated with the Program.

Academic Offerings

For the latest academic year offerings in Law, Science, and Technology, please visit the HLS Course Catalog .

Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property is the body of law that governs rights to ideas and information. Basic courses in the field include Copyright, and Patents. Students interested in litigation in this field should consider taking Copyright and Trademark Litigation, and the Patent Litigation Workshop. Other courses in the field include Trademark and Unfair Competition, Entertainment and Media Law, and Music and Digital Media. Legal practice in these fields increasingly requires knowledge of the laws of other countries and of the network of multilateral treaties that limit each country’s discretion is framing its own laws. To obtain that knowledge, students are strongly encouraged to take International Intellectual Property, as well as courses in International and Comparative Law including Public International Law and International Trade.

Health Law, Biotechnology, and Bioethics

The second cluster consists of courses pertaining to Health Law, Biotechnology, and Bioethics. An introduction to the field is offered in Health Care Law.

Students interested in more advanced work can choose from a variety of upper-level classes including Drug Product Liability Litigation, the Food Law and Policy Seminar, Food and Drug Law, Global Effects of EU Law, the Food Law seminar, the Innovation in Medical Technologies: Law and Policy seminar, and the Public Health Law and Policy seminar. In addition, the year-long Health Law, Policy, Bioethics and Biotechnology Workshop represents an ideal capstone experience for students interested in the field, as it features presentations of major scholars’ works-in-progress in health law and policy, bioethics, and biotechnology. Students are also encouraged to consider the Health Law and Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and the Food Law Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (focusing on policy rather than offering direct legal services), each of which allows students to transfer the skills and ideas they learn in the classroom to the real world. Patents is also recommended for students seeking to specialize in biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation.

Beyond the classroom, students interested in Health Law are also encouraged to attend the various lectures organized by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics . Students with an academic interest in health law should also consider applying to be student fellows at the Petrie-Flom Center, which provides law students and graduate students elsewhere in the university intensive mentoring and funding to produce works of scholarship. Finally, students interested in health law should consider the JD/MPH joint degree program with the Harvard School of Public Health.

Internet Law

The third cluster consists of courses examining different aspects of Internet Law. The course offerings in this area include: City Use of Technology, Counseling and Legal Strategy in the Digital Age, Communications and Internet Law and Policy, and Technology and Inequality. Students interested in digital media may also wish to consider offerings such as Digital Storytelling and the Law, Music and Digital Media, and The Two-Way Mirror: Media Imaging in the 21st Century. In addition, clinical placements in the field are available at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society through the Cyberlaw Clinic.

The Berkman Center also affords a wide variety of opportunities to participate in research projects pertaining to internet and society as a research assistant . In addition, Berkman offers weekly events which students are encouraged to attend to get to know the community and learn about cutting-edge research in the field.

Technology and Civil Liberties

Changing technologies raise novel questions about how to safeguard civil liberties, particularly privacy and freedom of expression. Courses in this field include Digital Privacy, Comparative Online Privacy, and Frontiers of Cyberlaw: Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Information Security. To gain expertise on technology and civil liberties, student are encouraged to take courses on constitutional law, including First Amendment, Criminal Procedure, and Civil Rights Litigation. Courses in national security law, such as the seminar Privacy, Technology, and National Security, may also be of interest.

Regardless of whether a student concentrates in one of these areas of the law or develops a program by combining course work in the four fields, she should strongly consider wrapping up her sequence of courses with an extended research project of her own, typically culminating with original scholarship. All of the faculty listed above are available to supervise such projects. Students should also consider contacting the Law, Science, and Technology Program of Study student fellows to discuss research topics.

Academic Careers

Students who wish to pursue academic careers in this area should think about combining the course work discussed above with opportunities for significant research and writing.

Fellowships and Research Funding Opportunities

Fellowship Program at Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
Fellowship Programs at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School
Summer Public Interest Funding
Winter Term International Travel Grants

Research and Learning Outside the Classroom

Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
FXB Center for Health & Human Rights at Harvard University
Harvard Business School Healthcare Initiative
Harvard Global Health Institute
The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School

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Georgetown Law

Technology law & policy.

Georgetown Law is the nation’s largest law school and its expertise in technology law is unmatched.

Note on Admissions and Application for Technology Law & Policy LL.M and the Master of Law and Technology (M.L.T.)

Application materials and answers to tuition related questions can be found by going to the Graduate Admissions page. The M.L.T. application form is the same as the LL.M program and is available here ( application form ).

Technology Law & Policy LL.M.

Georgetown Law launched the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Technology Law & Policy for law school graduates seeking to deepen their expertise at the intersection of policy and technology. The first cohort began classes in Fall 2020.

Master of Law and Technology (M.L.T.)

Georgetown Law launched a new masters degree program for non-lawyers who need to better understand the technology law landscape. The first cohort began classes in Fall 2020.

Groundbreaking research institutions

The Institute for Technology Law and Policy
The Center on Privacy & Technology
The Institute for International Economic Law
The Center on National Security & the Law

Law and Technology

Starting with a focus on intellectual property, Berkeley Law’s law and technology program has expanded over the years to develop an equally deep expertise on privacy. Our activities now encompass the full range of technology law, including cybercrime and cybersecurity, biotech, entertainment law, telecommunications regulation, and many other areas of constitutional, regulatory, and business law.

Intellectual Property

Over the years, Berkeley Law’s pioneering intellectual property program has provided not only an unmatched classroom education for our students, but also a multitude of conferences and other events where scholars, attorneys, and policymakers meet to consider the complex and dynamic issues arising in the field of intellectual property.

The Berkeley Law faculty includes leading privacy experts with concentrations spanning international and comparative privacy law, consumer privacy, cybercrime, and the law of government surveillance. In addition to teaching, research, and writing, faculty work with corporations and organizations and testify before legislative hearings and other government bodies .

Digital Entertainment

Berkeley Law is exploring the challenges raised as sports and entertainment law converges with digital technology. Significant conferences and networking opportunities as well as innovative courses such as seminars on music law and video game law provide students an introduction to this diverse and rapidly changing field.

A Global Perspective

In today’s interconnected world, technology law issues are global in scope. Recognizing this, Berkeley Law collaborates with international scholars, lawyers, and public officials to compare the IP and regulatory regimes of various countries and to confront issues surrounding the international development of technology law. Our Berkeley Center for Law and Technology has strong working relationships with universities around the world, including Tel Aviv University, Israel; Renmin University, Beijing; Peking University, Beijing; and the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam.

Berkeley Center for Law and Technology Much of what happens at Berkeley Law in the areas of law and technology occurs under the umbrella of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology (BCLT) . BCLT’s program extends beyond the classroom, providing students diverse opportunities to immerse themselves in the ever-expanding field of technology and the law. From informative networking events to career fairs and more, BCLT supports a number of co-curricular and extracurricular activities to enrich the law school experience.

‘A Superb Teacher and a Great Scholar’: Professor Andrea Roth Awarded New Faculty Chair

Roth, a groundbreaking scholar of criminal law and evidence in an increasingly technology-driven world, is the first Barry Tarlow Chancellor’s Chair in Criminal Justice.

Cutting to the Chase: Barbershop Launches 2L Dominick Williams to Prestigious Journal’s Top Role

Williams has parlayed working at Lord Tony’s in Sacramento to becoming editor in chief of the California Law Review, where he’s pushing to expand the journal’s accessibility and reach.

LL.M. Student Deshna Desai Unravels the Fashion Industry’s Legal Threads

Desai, who wrote an article recently published in the Fashion & Law Journal, probes some of the compelling aspects, important nuances, and timely issues at the nexus of law and fashion.

From Crypto to the Meaning of Truth, New Courses Build Knowledge Across a Broad Spectrum

More than 20 new classes are just part of a record number of courses offered this spring, giving students a rich range of choices.

Student-Led Digital Rights Project Helps Score a Big Privacy Victory in the Bay Area

Working with the ACLU of Northern California, the group spent hundreds of hours reviewing thousands of geofence warrants issued from January 2018 to August 2021 to figure out where police used them and who was affected.

Technology & the Law

Software, hardware, platforms, and networks are regulated by sometimes conflicting and overlapping sets of laws, policies, and norms. New technologies are constantly creating new frontiers for policymakers trying to understand and balance the costs and benefits to society. Through novel research and discussion across viewpoints and sectors, we seek to understand the complexities at play and help inform policy.

Our Work 173

Vectors of AI Governance

Juxtaposing the U.S. Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2022 with The EU Artificial Intelligence Act

This article juxtaposes proposed legislation in the US and EU for regulating AI and reflects on the future direction of AI governance.

BKC Comment to the FTC on Transparency and Commercial Surveillance

On behalf of BKC and its projects and associates, the Cyberlaw Clinic submitted a comment regarding the FTC's ANPR related to commercial surveillance and data privacy.

Digital Crime Scenes

The Role of Digital Evidence in the Persecution of LGBTQ People in Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia

Digital evidence has made it easier for law enforcement to identify, harass, and prosecute LGBTQ people...

Protecting and Promoting AI Innovation: Patent Eligibility Reform as an Imperative for National Security and Innovation

Three Part Virtual Symposium - Security, Privacy, and Innovation: Reshaping Law for the AI Era

VIDEO: Security, Privacy, AI, Law

Constitutional Values and the Rule of Law in the AI Era: Confronting a Changing Threat Landscape

Responding to AI Enabled Surveillance and Digital Authoritarianism

VIDEO: Security, Privacy, AI

Cyberlaw Clinic and EFF publish Guide to Legal Risks of Security Research

Guide provides pragmatic guidance for navigating today’s uncertain legal landscape

Cyberlaw Clinic weighs in on warrantless device searches at the US border

Mason Kortz discusses an amicus brief filed on behalf of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic

Global Perspectives on Data Collection, Contact Tracing, and COVID-19

Network of Centers discussion focuses on uses of data to combat COVID-19

[Virtual] Why Fairness Cannot Be Automated

Video & Podcast: Bridging the Gap Between EU Non-Discrimination Law & AI

Cyberlaw Clinic turns 20

Founded in 1999, the first-of-its-kind clinical program based at the Berkman Klein Center celebrates two decades of perpetual adaptation

From clinical student to clinical instructor

Kendra Albert shares their Cyberlaw Clinic story

Kendra Albert

Napster@20: Reflections on the Internet’s Most Controversial Music File Sharing Service

Part of the Cyberlaw Clinic 20th Anniversary Event Series

VIDEO & PODCAST: Examining the direct and indirect legacy of Napster over the past two decades

Re-Framing the Frame

Preparing Justice-Seekers through Legal Education

Read more about the Re-Framing the Frame Workshop here.  This talk takes a critical look at…

Clinic Releases Guide to Anti-Circumvention Exemption for Software Preservation

A new guide for preservationists who want to take advantage of the legal exemption to archive software

Harvard Law Just Released 6.5 Million Court Decisions Online

40 million pages of U.S. court decisions made available free and in-full online for the first time

Coming in from the Cold: A Safe Harbor from the CFAA and DMCA §1201

A proposal for a statutory safe harbor from the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and DMCA for security research activities.

Art that Imitates Art

Computational Creativity and Creative Contracting

Copyright in AI-generated works, the need for a shared understanding of what is and isn’t up for grabs in a license, and how forward-thinking contracts can prevent AI developers…

AGTech Forum Briefing Book: State Attorneys General and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is already starting to change our lives. Over the coming decades, these new technologies will shape many of our daily interactions and drive dramatic…

Governance and Regulation in the land of Crypto-Securities (as told by CryptoKitties)

featuring founding members, Dieter Shirley and Alex Shih

Join founding members of the CryptoKitties team, Dieter Shirley and Alex Shih, as they discuss the unique governance, legal, and regulatory challenges of putting cats on the…

The Law and Ethics of Digital Piracy

Evidence from Harvard Law School Graduates

When do Harvard law students perceive digital file sharing (and piracy) as fine?

Force of Nature

Celebrating 20 Years of the Laws of Cyberspace

Join us as we celebrate 20 years of the Laws of Cyberspace and the ways in which it laid the groundwork for our Center's field of study.

Tales from the Public Domain

James Boyle and Jennifer Jenkins discuss "Theft! A History of Music"

Remedies for Cyber Defamation

Criminal Libel, Anti-Speech Injunctions, Forgeries, Frauds, and More

“Cheap speech” has massively increased ordinary people’s access to mass communications -- both for good and for ill. How has the system of remedies for defamatory, privacy…

A talk with Marilù Capparelli, PhD

Legal Director at Google

Please join the Harvard Italian Law Association and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society for a discussion on several legal and regulatory issues concerning digital…

The Right of Publicity

Privacy Reimagined for a Public World

Jennifer E. Rothman discusses her book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World (Harvard University Press 2018). She challenges the conventional story of the…

Big Data, Health Law, and Bioethics

This timely, groundbreaking volume explores how law promotes or discourages the use of big data in the health care sphere.

Follow-up Letter to the Members of the Massachusetts Legislature Regarding the Adoption of Actuarial Risk Assessment Tools in the Criminal Justice System

The following open letter — signed by Harvard and MIT-based faculty, staff, and researchers — is directed to the Massachusetts Legislature to inform its consideration of risk…

Health Care Costs and Transparency

featuring John Freedman, President & CEO of Freedman HealthCare

Health spending continues to outpace wages and GDP, while some new insurance designs transfer greater shares of that to patients’ own out of pocket costs. What is driving health…

The “Monkey Selfie” Case: Can Non-Humans Hold Copyrights?

featuring a panel of experts on copyright, cyber law, and intermediary liability issues

Can non-human animals own copyrights? Can artificial intelligence machines? Join the Berkman Klein Center, the Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Program, and the HLS Student…

Who Owns Your Ideas and How Does Creativity Happen?

A Conversation with Professor Orly Lobel

Who owns your ideas? How are cultural icons created and who gets to control their image and message? Orly Lobel’s new book You Don’t Own Me is about how intellectual property both…

Community-Owned Fiber Networks: Value Leaders in America

Pricing Review Shows They Provide Least-Expensive Local "Broadband"

Our examination of advertised prices shows that community-owned fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in the United States generally charge less for entry-level broadband service than…

Accountability of AI Under the Law: The Role of Explanation

The paper reviews current societal, moral, and legal norms around explanations, and then focuses on the different contexts under which an explanation is currently required under…

Apply for a Spot in CopyrightX 2018

CopyrightX is a networked course that explores the current law of copyright; the impact of that law on art, entertainment, and industry; and the ongoing debates concerning how the…

An Open Letter to the Members of the Massachusetts Legislature Regarding the Adoption of Actuarial Risk Assessment Tools in the Criminal Justice System

This open letter — signed by Harvard and MIT-based faculty, staff, and researchers— is directed to the Massachusetts Legislature to inform its consideration of risk assessment…

Zero Rating & Internet Adoption

Workshop Paper & Research Agenda

In March of 2016, a diverse group of stakeholders gathered to discuss the use of zero rating as a means to improve Internet adoption in the developing world and how and when it…

Enabling Competition & Innovation on a City Fiber Network

The municipally owned fiber-optic network of Ammon, Idaho provides one model for U.S. public entities and policymakers seeking to increase service competition and innovation.

The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund Commits $7.6 Million to Support the Development of AI in the Public Interest

With the Berkman Klein Center and MIT Media Lab as academic anchor institutions, the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund announced today funding for nine…

AI and the Law: Setting the Stage

We as a society are only beginning to understand the ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges associated with AI, as well as develop appropriate governance models and responses.

Open Data Privacy Playbook

This report codifies responsible privacy-protective open data approaches and processes that could be adopted by cities and other government organizations.

Internet Designers as Policy-Makers

Sandra Braman, Abbott Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University

Those responsible for technical design of the Internet are…

Hyperloop Law: Autonomy, Infrastructure, and Transportation Startups

featuring General Counsel of Hyperloop One, Marvin Ammori

The future of transportation may include Google's autonomous vehicles, Uber's flying cars, and Amazon's delivery drones--all bound together by a high-speed hyperloop backbone. You…

Bottom-up Constitutionalism: The Case of Net Neutrality

with Christoph Graber, Berkman Klein Faculty Associate

Can we observe the emergence of a new fundamental right that is protecting the Internet? Can such a constitutionalisation process originate from civil society?

Smart Grid Paybacks: The Chattanooga Example

After building a fiber optic network throughout its service territory, the city-owned electric utility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2010 became the first U.S. company to offer…

Citizens Take Charge: Concord, Massachusetts, Builds a Fiber Network

In this case study, the authors describe the municipal smart grid and fiber-to-the-home Internet access project in the town of Concord, Massachusetts, and quantify early paybacks…

Free Independent Health Records

featuring Adrian Gropper, MD

Free Independent Health Records are an important use-case for self-sovereign technology that links individual people with licensed practitioners and connected services. Blockchain…

Berkman Klein Center and MIT Media Lab to Collaborate on the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Supported by the Knight Foundation, Omidyar Network, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Hewlett Foundation, and more

Several foundations and funders today announced the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which will support interdisciplinary research to ensure that AI develops…

Does Public Attention Reduce the Influence of Interest Groups?

Policy Positions on SOPA/PIPA Before and After the Internet Blackout

This paper investigates the role public attention plays in determining the effect that campaign contributions funded by interests groups have on legislators’ policy positions.

Apply for a spot in CopyrightX

CopyrightX is a networked course that explores the current law of copyright; the impact of that law on art, entertainment, and industry; and the ongoing debates concerning how the…

Networked Policy Making Avenues: Assessing the Role of Academics in Digital Policy

There are a growing number of examples that point toward a change in the way public policy is made in the digital age. This new context, which we refer to as networked…

Culture Change and Digital Technology: The NYPD under Commissioner William Bratton, 2014-2016

This white paper explores NYPD's adoption of Twitter and an ideation platform called IdeaScale that was aimed at allowing community members to nominate "quality of life" issues…

WiredWest: a Cooperative of Municipalities Forms to Build a Fiber Optic Network

Western Massachusetts Towns Create a New Model for Last-Mile Connectivity, but a State Agency Delays Approval and Funding

A new case study from the Berkman Center's Municipal Fiber Initiative profiles a group of Western Massachusetts towns who have created a new model for last-mile connectivity.

Cyberlaw Clinic and Lumen Project Reps Contribute to Section 512 Study

Maximizing K-12 Fiber Connectivity Through E-Rate: An Overview

An evaluation of self-construction, dark fiber, and lit fiber options for school districts following recent enhancements to E-rate

This new toolkit provides school system leaders the guidance to understand and leverage the federal E-rate program, which provides up to $3.9 billion annually to subsidize the…

Cyberlaw Clinic FAQ — 2016-17 Registration Starts Soon!

Harvard Law School 1Ls and 2Ls should now be aware that clinical registration for the 2016-17 academic year takes place this week, starting at 9:00 am on Wednesday, March 30 and…

Towards Digital Constitutionalism? Mapping Attempts to Craft an Internet Bill of Rights

The idea of an “Internet Bill of Rights” is by no means a new one: in fact, serious efforts to draft such a document can be traced at least as far back as the mid-1990s. In this…

Designing Successful Governance Groups

Lessons for Leaders from Real-World Examples

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, together with the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC), is pleased to announce the release of a new publication…

Holyoke: A Massachusetts Municipal Light Plant Seizes Internet Access Business Opportunities

Holyoke Gas & Electric’s telecom division provides high-speed Internet access to local businesses and public agencies, bringing in revenue and profits while aiding in local…

Interoperability in the Digital Ecosystem

The Berkman Center is pleased to announce the publication of a new paper, "Interoperability in the Digital Ecosystem." The paper builds upon our previous interoperability work,…

Applications open for Advanced Copyright Practice, a new HLS Executive Education course

Faculty co-director William Fisher, together with five faculty, will teach Advanced Copyright Practice on May 7-9, 2015. The application deadline is April 15.

Update, April 14, 2015: this course has been indefinitely postponed. This intensive three-day executive education course is designed for lawyers who would like to deepen their…

Governance of Online Intermediaries: Observations From a Series of National Case Studies

This project examines the rapidly changing landscape of online intermediary liability at the intersection of law, technology, norms, and markets, and is aimed at informing and…

Multistakeholder as Governance Groups: Observations from Case Studies

The project explores existing multistakeholder governance groups with the goal of informing the future evolution of the Internet governance ecosystem. The research effort…

National Security and Cyberthreats

A Conversation with John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security

Join Assistant Attorney General for National Security HLS alumnus and Heyman Fellow John Carlin, together with moderator Jonathan Zittrain, for a conversation about significant…

Who Gets a Press Pass?

Media Credentialing Practices in the United States

This study, the first of its kind to perform a quantitative examination of media credentialing in the United States, surveys the experience of journalists throughout the country…

Ethereum: Freenet or Skynet ?

Primavera De Filippi, Berkman Center Fellow

Ethereum: smart contracts, distributed autonomous organizations, and the law. Can the dreams of an autonomous decentralized society be implemented through the tyranny of code?

Governments and Cloud Computing: Roles, Approaches, and Policy Considerations

In this paper, Urs Gasser and David O'Brien synthesize findings from a multi-year cloud computing research initiative led by the Berkman Center in close collaboration with the…

Cloud Innovation and the Law: Issues, Approaches, and Interplay

“Cloud Innovation and the Law: Issues, Approaches, and Interplay,” authored by Berkman Center Executive Director and Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Urs Gasser, draws…

Interoperability Case Study: From Crowdsourcing Potholes to Community Policing

Applying Interoperability Theory to Analyze the Expansion of “Open311”

Following the four primary applications of interoperability theory laid out by Palfrey and Gasser, this paper is organized into five Parts: (1) Part One introduces the topic; (2)…

Cyberlaw Clinic - Fall 2013

The Cyberlaw Clinic, based at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, engages Harvard Law School students in a wide range of real-world client counseling, licensing and…

Interoperability Case Study: The European Union as an Institutional Design for Legal Interoperability

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

Filling the News Gap in Cambridge and Beyond: Citizen Journalism and Grassroots Media

The event will explore the quickly expanding world of citizen journalism: how technology is fueling its growth; how that growth is changing the way we see our world, enact change,…

Cyberlaw Clinic - Spring 2013

The Cyberlaw Clinic, based at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, engages Harvard Law School students in a wide range of real-world licensing, client counseling, advocacy,…

Music and Digital Media: Seminar - Spring 2013

This course explores a variety of legal issues relating to the creation, exploitation, and protection of music and other content. The seminar focuses on traditional legal regimes…

Cyberlaw Clinic - Winter 2013

Interoperability case study: electronic data interchange (edi), open wireless vs. licensed spectrum: evidence from market adoption.

The paper reviews evidence from eight wireless markets: mobile broadband; wireless healthcare; smart grid communications; inventory management; access control; mobile payments;…

Interoperability Case Study: Mobile Phone Chargers

Interoperability Case Study: Cloud Computing

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser - Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

Cyberlaw Clinic - Fall 2012

Interoperability case study: the bar code/upc, interoperability case study: the smart grid.

Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems

In Interop, technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser explore the immense importance of interoperability—the standardization and integration of technology—and show how this…

Mapping Cloud Interoperability in the Globalized Economy: Theory and Observation from Practice

Urs Gasser and John Palfrey have continued to contribute to the World Trade Institute’s NCCR Trade Policy project with a particular focus on the interoperability as an enabler of…

Interoperability in Information Systems in the Furtherance of Trade

Fostering innovation and trade in the global information society: the different facets and roles of interoperability.

John Palfrey and Urs Gasser

John Palfrey and Urs Gasser discussed their new book on Interoperability book and its themes.

Making large volunteer-driven projects sustainable. Lessons learned from Drupal

Dries Buytaert, original creator and project lead of Drupal

In this talk, Dries shares his experiences on how he grew the Drupal community from just one person to over 800,000 members over the past 10 years.

Rethink Music Conference 2012

Rethink Music is a hands-on conference designed to bring music stakeholders together to discuss business models for the future, examine copyright challenges in the digital era,…

The Growth and Decay of Shared Knowledge

Dennis Tenen, fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society

In this talk, Dennis will discuss our intuitions about knowledge domains and the methods by which such intuitions could be modeled empirically. Along the way, we will have the…

Guide to the IRS Decision-Making Process under Section 501(c)(3) for Journalism and Publishing Non-Profit Organizations

Until and unless there is action in Congress to facilitate tax exemptions for journalism non-profits, news organizations seeking 501(c)(3) status must learn how to structure their…

Interoperability Case Study: Internet of Things (IoT)

Interoperability case study: intermodal containers and global cargo transport.

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process- and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and…

The Promises of Web-based Social Experiments

Jerome Hergueux, Berkman Center Fellow

In this talk, Jerome Hergueux will engage the audience in a discussion about the specificities, limitations and promises of web-based behavioral experiments for advancing social…

Designing for Remixing: Computer-supported Social Creativity

Andres Monroy-Hernandez, Berkman Fellow & MIT Media Lab

In this talk Andres Monroy-Hernandez presents a framework for the design and study of an online community of amateur creators. This event will be webcast live at 12:30PM ET.

The Spanish Revolution & the Internet: From free culture to meta-politics

Mayo Fuster Morell, Berkman Center Fellow

In the context of multiple crises – ecological, political, financial and geopolitical restructuring – large mobilizations are taking place in several countries. In the Spanish…

Media Law in the Digital Age: The Rules Have Changed -- Again

Co-produced by the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Kennesaw State's Center for Sustainable Journalism, Media Law in the Digital…

The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs over Self-Interest

Yochai Benkler, Berkman Center Faculty Co-Director

In his new book, Yochai Benkler uses evidence from neuroscience, economics, sociology, biology, and real-world examples to break down the myth of self-interest and replace it with…

Almost Wikipedia: What Eight Collaborative Encyclopedia Projects Reveal About Mechanisms of Collective Action

Benjamin Mako Hill, Berkman Center & MIT

Benjamin Mako Hill will present some preliminary findings from a qualitative, inductive, case-study based analysis of 8 early projects to create online collaborative encyclopedias.

Law School for Digital Journalists

A Pre-Conference of the Online News Association's 2011 Conference

The Online News Association, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy present Law School for Digital Journalists, part of the…

Yochai Benkler draws on cutting-edge findings from neuroscience, economics, sociology, evolutionary biology, political science, and a wealth of real world examples to reveal how…

Global Interoperability and Linked Data Workshop

On May 16-17, 2011, the Berkman Center together with Open Knowledge Commons and the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam convened a group of technical and…

Rethink Music Conference

For the Berklee College of Music's Rethink Music conference, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University hosted a Call for Papers seeking policy proposals that…

Rethinking Music: A Briefing Book

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to present this briefing book to participants in the Rethink Music conference. The book includes the Center’s own framing…

Designing Incentives for Inexpert Human Raters

This paper presents the results of an experiment comparing the effects of social, financial, and hybrid incentive schemes on worker performance in an online labor market (Amazon's…

The Cablevision Case - 2 Years Later: A Conversation About Copyright, Content, and the Cloud

R. David Hosp, Goodwin Procter LLP & Ed Weiss, New England Sports Ventures

The Berkman Center's Cyberlaw Clinic and Harvard Law School's Journal of Law and Technology present a conversation about 2008's landmark "Cablevision" case, in which the Second…

Accountability and Transparency at ICANN: An Independent Review

In August 2010, selected faculty and researchers at the Berkman Center initiated an independent, exploratory study analyzing ICANN’s decision-making processes and communications…

The Online Laboratory: Taking Experimental Social Science onto the Internet

Dave Rand, Berkman Fellow & Research Scientist at Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics

In this talk Dave Rand will describe how to go about designing and running experiments using Mechanical Turk, some successful experiments that have been run (mostly involving…

Media Law in the Digital Age: The Rules Have Changed, Have You?

We're pleased to announce that the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard's Berkman Center and the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University are co-hosting a…

Hacking the Casebook

The H20 Development Team

Traditional law school casebooks are expensive, bulky and stagnant. With the support of the HLS Library, Berkman has been updating our suite of classroom tools, H2O. In this…

The Rise of the News Aggregator: Legal Implications and Best Practices

This white paper attempts to answer the question of whether news aggregators violate current law by examining the hot news misappropriation and copyright infringement claims that…

Best Practices in the Use of Technology to Facilitate Access to Justice Initiatives

Preliminary Report

The Cyberlaw Clinic undertook this study to help the Massachusetts Trial Court work toward a comprehensive, holistic strategic plan for maximizing technology’s role in the Access…

Sexting: Youth Practices and Legal Implications

This document addresses legal and practical issues related to the practice colloquially known as sexting. It was created by Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, based at the…

Working Towards a Deeper Understanding of Digital Safety for Children and Young People in Developing Nations

An Exploratory Study by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, in Collaboration with UNICEF

This paper's main objectives are: to raise awareness about issues related to digital safety for youth in developing nations; to provide a tentative map of these issues and give…

Preliminary Conclusions from The Industrial Cooperation Project

Carolina Rossini, Berkman Fellow

Carolina Rossini, Berkman Fellow, will report initial findings and conclusions from the Industrial Cooperation Project...

How the COPPA, as Implemented, Is Misinterpreted by the Public: A Research Perspective

Statement to the United States Senate, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Statement by danah boyd, Urs Gasser, and John Palfrey, urging consideration of the gap between the intentions of COPPA and how children and their parents perceive its…

A Tale of Two Blogospheres: Discursive Practices on the Left and Right

This paper compares the practices of discursive production and participation among top U.S. political blogs on the left, right, and center during the summer of 2008 and finds…

Youth, Privacy and Reputation (Literature Review)

The scope of this literature review is to map out what is currently understood about the intersections of youth, reputation, and privacy online, focusing on youth attitudes and…

Symposium: Journalism's Digital Transition: Unique Legal Challenges and Opportunities

The Berkman Center's Citizen Media Law Project and Cyberlaw Clinic are pleased to announce a one-day symposium and CLE program to celebrate the launch of the Online Media Legal…

Old Habits Die Hard: Can Technology Change Deception?

Jeff Hancock, Cornell University

In this talk, Jeff will consider some of the myths commonly held about deception, and use the intersection of technology and deception to surface and rethink our assumptions about…

Transforming the Last Mile State

How Vermont can leapfrog a technology generation and lead the nation in connectivity, transparency and innovation.

Matt Dunne, former State Senator, Head of Community Affairs for Google and current candidate for Vermont Governor will share his vision for Vermont becoming the first truly 21st…

The hierarchy of virtue: mutualism, altruism, and signaling in Martu women’s cooperative hunting

Rebecca Bliege Bird, Stanford University

Rebecca Bliege Bird will discuss the question "Why do Martu women hunt cooperatively when they don't seem to benefit economically from doing so?" and suggests that demonstrating a…

Response to FCC Notice of Inquiry 09-94 “Empowering Parents and Protecting Children in an Evolving Media Landscape”

The response synthesizes current research and data on the media practices of youth, focusing on three main areas -- 1) Risky Behaviors and Online Safety, 2) Privacy, Publicity and…

Whither Blind Justice? Effects of Physiognomy on Judicial Decisions

Leslie Zebrowitz, Brandeis University

Research shows that peoples’ facial appearance influences impressions of their honesty and judgments of their culpability, effects that have been shown to bias decisions in the…

Next Generation Connectivity

A review of broadband Internet transitions and policy from around the world

The FCC announced that the Berkman Center would conduct an independent expert review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment and usage throughout the world…

Signaling Theory and the Evolution of Religion

Richard Sosis, director of the Evolution, Cognition, and Culture Program at the University of Connecticut

Researchers from diverse disciplines have suggested that rituals and other religious behaviors serve as signals of an individual's commitment to a religious group, and some have…

Transformed Social Interaction in Virtual Reality

Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab and an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford

In this talk, Jeremy will describe a series of projects that explore the manners in which avatars (representations of people in virtual environments) qualitatively change the…

Brain Bases of Deception: Why We Probably Will Never Have a Perfect Lie Detector

Stephen M. Kosslyn, Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Associate Psychologist in the Department of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital

Different brain systems are used when one produces lies in different ways, such as by fabricating lies spontaneously "on the fly" versus fabricating them on the basis of a…

The Social Efficiency of Fairness

Marshall Van Alstyne, Associate Professor at Boston University and Research Scientist at MIT

Property rights provide incentives to create information but they also provide incentives to hoard it prior to the award of protection. Marshall Van Alstyne will propose a…

Kudunomics: Information and Property Rights in the Weightless Economy

Sam Bowles, Santa Fe Institute, Behavioral Sciences Program

Sam Bowles will discuss how an evolutionary model and computer simulations will show how systems of property rights might respond to the challenges of the weightless economy.

Big Data, Global Development, and Complex Social Systems

Nathan Eagle, Omidyar Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute

Petabytes of data about human movements, transactions, and communication patterns are continuously being generated by everyday technologies such as mobile phones and credit cards…

Cloud Law, Finance 3.0, and Digital Institutions: A Report from the Berkman Center's Law Lab

John Clippinger, Urs Gasser, and Oliver Goodenough

The Berkman Center Law Lab is a project devoted to investigating and harness the varied forces — evolutionary, social, psychological, neurological and economic — that shape the…

An Evaluation of Private Foundation Copyright Licensing Policies, Practices and Opportunities

This project undertook to examine the copyright licensing policies and practices of a group of twelve private foundations. In particular, it looked at the extent to which…

HIT me baby one more time, Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love Amazon Mechanical Turk

Aaron Shaw, Berkman Center Fellow

Aaron Shaw will discuss who's using Amazon's Mechanical Turk, its implications for social scientists, the future of labor markets, and life on the Internet as we know it.

The Second and Third Enclosures

Lewis Hyde, Berkman Fellow

In his lunchtime talk, Lewis Hyde will trace the roots of the second enclosure (it goes back at least to the invention of printing); he will describe traditional forms of…

Harvard-MIT-Yale Cyberscholar Working Group

Aaron Shaw - Polanyi's Penguin? Commons-Based Industry in the Neoliberal Knowledge Economy; Colleen Kaman - The World in the Network; Rasmus Kleis Nielsen - Mundane Tools and…

How Shall the Commons Be Governed? New Challenges Facing the Digital Commons Sector

David Bollier, Author of "Viral Spiral: How the Commoners Built a Digital Republic of Their Own"

David Bollier will discuss the rise of the commons paradigm in the digital environment, the subject of his new book, "Viral Spiral: How the Commoners Built a Digital Republic of…

The End of Lawyers? The End of Law Schools?

Professor Richard Susskind, Author of "The End of Lawyers?" and IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England

Professor Richard Susskind predicts that the legal profession will be driven by two forces in the coming decade: by a market pull towards the commoditization of legal services,…

Law for a Flat World: Building Legal Infrastructure for the New Economy

Gillian K Hadfield of USC

Gillian K Hadfield on how and why our legal infrastructure is outdated and ill-suited to the new economy, looking mostly to the non-market or protected-market mechanisms on which…

Dynamic remodeling of in-group bias during the 2008 presidential election

People often favor members of their own group, while discriminating against members of other groups. Such in-group favoritism has been shown to play an important role in human…

The "Internet" of the developing world: using GSM networks to secure information

Ashifi Gogo, Dartmouth College

Ashifi Gogo will discuss the growing demand for information services on GSM and the innovative services being developed around mobile phones in the developing world.

ISTTF: Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies

John Palfrey, danah boyd, Dena Sacco, Laura DeBonis

John Palfrey, danah boyd, Dena Sacco, Laura DeBonis, directors of the recently concluded Internet Safety Technical Task Force, discuss the findings and recommendations from the…

Child Exploitation, Pornography, and the Internet: Seminar - Spring 2009

This course addresses the complex legal, technological, and social questions created by the rapidly increasing distribution of both child and adult pornography on the Internet…

Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies

Final Report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was created in February 2008 in accordance with the "Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety" announced in January…

Intellectual Property Law: Advanced - Spring 2009

This course is intended for students who are already familiar with the main contours of intellectual property law and would like to explore the subject further.

The Commons: Celebrating accomplishments, discerning futures

Jamie Boyle, Lawrence Lessig, Joi Ito, Molly S. Van Houweling, and Jonathan Zittrain

Creative Commons and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society present "The Commons: Celebrating accomplishments, discerning futures" tonight.

Participatory Governance: In open source communities, companies and government

Irving Wladawsky-Berger

Irving Wladawsky-Berger is a Visiting Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT, where he is involved in multi-disciplinary research and teaching activities focused on how…

The Google-Publishers Copyright Lawsuit Settlement

Join Jeffrey Cunard, one of the lead counsel for McGraw Hill and other publishers in their landmark copyright lawsuit against Google for its Google Library book search project, as…

The Uncertain Internet: Core Net Values for the [TBD] Administration

Jonathan Zittrain (Professor, Harvard Law School), Susan Crawford (Professor, University of Michigan Law School), Rich Miner (Mobile Platforms, Google; co-Founder of Android) and Alec Ross (Tech Policy Advisor to Obama)

Now is a critical moment for defining and reinforcing the best features of our communications platforms. What do we value about the internet and what should be the focus of the…

Armchair Revolutionary: Crowdsourcing Global Social Change

Ariel Hauter and Ori Neidich

We all want to make the world a better place, but we're discouraged from giving money and volunteer time to charities due to several layers of obstacles: transparency, efficacy,…

Giant Robots, Circumvention, and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act

StorageTek v. CHE, a technical talk by Christian Hicks, Elysium Digital

Christian Hicks, founder of Elysium Digital, discussed the case StorageTek v. CHE. This talk was co-sponsored by the Berkman Cyberlaw Clinic, the Harvard Computer Society, and the…

Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) Open Meeting

The Berkman Center hosted a day and a half-long public meeting of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force.

CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion - Fall 2008

This year's Cyberone will begin with empathic argument and programming from scratch, then segue immediately to projects.

Practical Lawyering in Cyberspace: Seminar - Fall 2008

Using a variety of cyberlaw-related case studies drawn from recent, actual controversies, along with targeted readings, court filings, real-life testimony, deposition videotapes…

Citizen Media Law Project @ 1

David Ardia, Sam Bayard, Tuna Chatterjee

David Ardia, Sam Bayard, and Tuna Chatterjee of CMLP discussed trends in online publishing and previewed the CMLP database of subpeonas, cease-and-desist letters, and other…

The Pros and Cons of an 'Educational Fair Use' Project

Lewis Hyde, Berkman Fellow, spoke on "The Pros and Cons of an 'Educational Fair Use' Project" and how fiar use can be reclaimed as an expressive right.

Breaking Down Digital Barriers

John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Present New Research on Interoperability

This joint report followed the Roadmap to Open ICT Ecosystems released in 2005, as it navigates the nuanced territory of consumer, corporate, and governmental interests in the…

Practical Lawyering in Cyberspace: Seminar - Fall 2007

Sacked by copyright: dmca takedowns and free expression.

Wendy Seltzer, Berkman Fellow

Wendy Seltzer, founder of Chilling Effects, discussed "Sacked by Copyright: DMCA Takedowns and Free Expression."

Innovation, Interoperability, and IP

Brad Smith, General Counsel of Microsoft

General Counsel of Microsoft, Brad Smith, discussed ", Interoperability, and IP"

Interoperability In the New Digital Identity Infrastructure

This paper maps out multiple dimensions of interoperability in the emerging digital identity management infrastructure, with a view to promoting openness in this infrastructure…

The Wealth of Networks

How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom

Book Description, from Amazon: With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an…

H2O Playlists Public Beta Release

Berkman H2O Team

Berkman Luncheon Series: 7/12/05 - Berkman H2O team on H2O Playlists Public Beta Release

Berkman Briefing: Diebold vs. The Bloggers

When the National Archives needed new vaults to protect the country’s most precious documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights – it…

Berkman Briefing: Averting the Internet Meltdown

The eye-catching conference title, Preventing the Internet Meltdown, brought a number of experts and Internet pioneers to Los Angeles recently to discuss the future of the…

Berkman Briefing: Inside the Courtroom - The Music Industry Takes on the Uploaders

The Berkman Briefing, Inside the Courtroom, gives a firsthand look at Wednesday's hearing in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts for one of the nearly 3000 lawsuits that the…

Berkman Briefing: Interacting at Interactive - Social Networks at SXSW

"Social Networks" was the hot topic at this year's Texas-based Internet conference, SXSW Interactive. The conference brought together leaders and innovators in the field on online…

Berkman Briefing: Rip, Mix, and Burn - Lessig's Case for Building a Free Culture

In a low-lit auditorium at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig leaned against the podium and clicked a remote…

Berkman Briefing: Free Software, the Gospel

If Eben Moglen's recent address at Harvard could be condensed to bumper-sticker format, it might read: Free Software, It isn't just source code—It’s a way of life. Moglen is a…

Berkman Briefing: SCO vs. IBM - Questioning the Kernel

I went to see Darl McBride’s presentation, “Defending Intellectual Property in the Digital Age,” because I wanted to learn more about his company, SCO, and its challenge to open…

Berkman Briefing: WSIS – Conference Hype or Lasting Change?

In terms of size alone, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a stunning achievement: 11,000 official participants representing 176 nations convened in Geneva for…

ICT and Education in Panama

Colin Maclay, Managing Director of the Berkman Center

Berkman Luncheon Series: 12/4/03 - Colin Maclay on ICT and Education in Panama

The Microsoft Case - Fall 1998

Professors Lessig and Zittrain will teach a research seminar on the Microsoft case. The seminar will meet at least once a week, beginning the week of 9/21. It will review the…

Community 150

‘the people’s joker’ and the perils of playing with a studio’s copyright.

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet explains the fair use doctrine of copyright.

Rebecca Tushnet

152 Rebecca Tushnet, Of Bass Notes and Base Rates

Discussing her paper, Of Bass Notes and Base Rates: Avoiding Mistaken Inferences About Copying, BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet explains evidentiary challenges in copyright…

Cyberlaw Clinic Instructor Mason Kortz discusses the legal arguments, possible resolutions, and potential implications of the NYT v. OpenAI lawsuit.

Mason Kortz

Bulelani jili on technology in africa.

BKC Fellow Bulelani Jili explores the role of technology in Africa-China relations.

Bulelani Jili

The Bizarre Future of Batman Toys

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet comments on familiar characters entering the public domain, losing copyright protection.

Online Harms Act: a step in the right direction to protect Canadians online

Florian Martin-Bariteau evaluates the Online Harms Act, a complex proposal to protect Canadians online.

Florian Martin-Bariteau

Air/time travel: rethinking appropriation in global hci and futures of electronic exchange.

BKC Affiliate Daniel Mwesigwa and Christopher Csíkszentmíhalyi reexamine appropriation in Human-Computer Interaction.

Daniel Mwesigwa

It’s high noon at the high court for internet free speech. What’s next for social media users?

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet comments on what First Amendment speech protections look like in online discussions.

Why Online Free Speech Is Now Up to the Supreme Court

2023-2024 RSM Visiting Scholar Anupam Chander provides insight on the content moderation cases before the Supreme Court this term.

Anupam Chander

The legal profession in 2024: AI

BKC Faculty Associate David Wilkins discusses how generative AI may impact the legal practice.

David Wilkins

Does copyright help artists? Not necessarily, say these writers.

Madhavi Sunder reviews Who Owns This Sentence?, which weaves through the history of copyright and grapples with key current issues.

Madhavi Sunder

Social media can harm kids. Can laws protect them?

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett coments on whether laws geared towards keeping children safe online will be enforceable.

Leah Plunkett

The fresh prince of joseon: how a crypto mogul became a korean royal heir—and formed a digital kingdom.

2023-2024 RSM Visiting Scholar Anupam Chander comments on the feasibility of creating digital countries.

“Where are you” vs “How are you”?

BKC Affiliate Tunde Okunoye contemplates what investment in digital identification projects in Africa may achieve—and who they may benefit.

Babatunde Okunoye

The Sleepy Copyright Office in the Middle of a High-Stakes Clash Over A.I.

Rebecca Tushnet comments on the Copyright Office's involvement in the determination of where AI fits into intellectual property laws.

Clinic Represents SPN and LCA in 1201 Rulemaking to Reduce Barriers to Software Preservation

The Cyberlaw Clinic, on behalf of the Software Preservation Network (SPN) and Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), sought to expand existing exemptions to allow for eligible memory…

'Steamboat Willie' is now in the public domain. What does that mean for Mickey Mouse?

Ruth Okediji discusses "Steamboat Willy" and protection of the public domain.

Ruth L. Okediji

Big Tech has long avoided responsibility for online content. Generative AI could end that.

Anupam Chander spoke to Business Insider on the potential for generative AI to hold Big Tech responsible for online content.

Algorithmic Institutionalism

In a new Oxford University Press book, Virgilio Almeida delves into the increasing presence of algorithms in everyday decisions, exploring their social…

Virgilio Almeida

On the bookshelves, fall 2023

Faculty Associate Ifeoma Ajunwa's book talk, The Quantified Worker: Law and Technology in the Modern Workplace, was discussed in Harvard Law School's Fall 2023 book event roundup.

Ifeoma Ajunwa

Supporting free speech means supporting victims of slapp suits, even if you disagree with the speakers.

Cyberlaw Clinical Instructor and Director of IfRFA Kendra Albert leads an amicus brief supporting free speech rights.

The Internet Enabled Mass Surveillance. A.I. Will Enable Mass Spying.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier argues that AI is on track to reduce spying's current limiting factor: the need for human labor.

Bruce Schneier

Harvard law school professor finds chatgpt invents fake law less than the supreme court.

BKC Faculty Associate Larry Lessig interacts with ChatGPT, finding that it ChatGPT was both more forthright and more analytically astute about the tensions …

Larry Lessig

As nh sues meta, it also urges social media literacy instruction for kids.

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett discusses the difficulties parents face when raising children in the internet age.

Fifteen Questions: Jonathan Zittrain on Social Media, AI Litigation, and CompuServe

Faculty Director Jonathan Zittrain discusses AI regulation, moderating online communities, and the Applied Social Media Lab.

Jonathan Zittrain

Holly herndon’s infinite art.

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet comments on the copyright implications of A.I.-generated art.

Thinking Through Generative AI Harms Among Users on Online Platforms

BKC Faculty Associate Sameer Hinduja offers a deep dive into the sobering potential of generative AI tools to perpetuate online harassment at massive scale.

Sameer Hinduja

Intellectual property and “the lost year” of covid-19 deaths.

Madhavi Sunder and Haochen Sun explain how Intellectual Property protections impacted the COVID-19 pandemic and the development, availability, and distribution of the COVID…

Haochen Sun

Who's in Charge in a Kid-Influencer World?

Leah Plunkett is a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center and an expert in digital privacy law and digital life for kids, teens, and families.

Cyberlaw and Election Law Clinics File Joint Comment on AI in Campaign Ads

The Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic and the Harvard Election Law Clinic have jointly submitted a response to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) request for comments about Artificial…

Casey Goes to the White House + The Copyright Battle Over Artificial Intelligence + HatGPT

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet joined the Hard Fork podcast to explain the latest developments in a lawsuit against the creators of AI image-generation tools.

Co-Designing Shared Futures

BKC Senior Director of Programs and Strategy Lis Sylvan introduces Co-Designing Generative Futures, a collection of multidisciplinary transnational reflections and speculations…

Elisabeth Sylvan

What is fair use in the age of AI?

Ruth Okediji moderated a Rappaport Forum on what's at stake with the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

A year after Elon Musk bought Twitter, LGBTQ people say it has become toxic

Cyberlaw Clinical Instructor Alejandra Caraballo comments on how Twitter, now X, has become toxic for LGBTQ people since Elon Musk's takeover of the platform.

Alejandra Caraballo

The use of new technologies in immigration and asylum governance: implications for human rights.

BKC Faculty Associate Petra Molnar joins the RefugeE Studies Center to discuss how the use of new technologies in immigration and asylum governance affect human rights.

Petra Molnar

Harvard professor lawrence lessig on why ai and social media are causing a free speech crisis for the internet.

BKC Faculty Associate Larry Lessig speaks with The Verge's Nilay Patel about BKC's new Applied Social Media Lab and why AI and social media are causing a free speech crisis for…

A Trademark Dispute Is Tearing the Tiny Film Photography Community Apart

Rebecca Tushnet explains that tradmark holders often make the argument that they have no choice but to try to enforce its trademark but this argument rarely holds water.

Towards a Legal Understanding of Social Data

BKC Faculty Associate Salomé Viljoen and collaborator Amanda Parsons, explain why current laws are not well equipped to confront problems generated by the rise of informational…

Salomé Viljoen

Key issues in writers' case against openai explained.

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet explains key issues in the writers' case against OpenAI and discusses some of the broader legal issues around emerging tech.

Why false advertising suits are on the rise in the fast-food industry

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet explains the harms of false advertising and the need for remedies.

Digital Border Governance: a Human Righst Based Approach

With the United Nations Human Rights Office, Lorna McGregor and Petra Molnar launched a study advocating for a human-rights based approach to digital border technologies.

Social Media, Youth, and New Legislation: The Most Critical Components

BKC Faculty Associate Sameer Hinduja discusses the challenge of regulating social media platforms to protect young people.

What happens when AI trains itself?

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman describes roadblocks to AI's continued training and learning.

Ethan Zuckerman

How dating became a paradise for predators.

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett comments on the relationship between social media platforms and the harms that may occur on them.

Pyramid Schemes Are Illegal. MLMs Are Not. What About the Tech That Powers Them?

BKC Director Rebecca Tushnet

Algorithmic Harm in Consumer Markets

BKC Faculty Associate Oren Bar-Gill and co-director of Artificial Intelligence and Law Project Cass R. Sunstein, co-write with Inbal Talgam-Cohen on addressing the potential harms…

Oren Bar-Gill

Cass Sunstein

A categorization of decentralized autonomous organizations: the case of the aragon platform.

Andrea Peña-Calvin, Jorge Saldivar, Javier Arroyo, and Samer Hassan provide insights on decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

Samer Hassan

Harvard law school and berkman klein center announce new ai and the law initiative.

Harvard Law School and BKC announce a new initiative on AI and the law which will be directed by Harvard Law Professors Oren Bar-Gill and Cass R. Sunstein.

Want to stop harmful tech? Just say no

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman calls upon people to consider how technology is currently harming some groups and ways to end that harm.

A.I. Microdirectives Could Soon Be Used for Law Enforcement

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier writes about the use of AI systems that is harming the most vulnerable society.

The Future of Online Speech Shouldn’t Belong to One Trump-Appointed Judge in Louisiana

BKC Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar Kate Klonick writes about a federal court ruling that restricted the Biden administration’s communications with social media platforms.

Kate Klonick

How Tech Regulation Can Leverage Product Experimentation Results

BKC Affiliate Nathaniel Lubin writes about how tech regulation could benefit from using the data from companies' private experimentation results.

Nathaniel Lubin

Why FTC’s child privacy push costs Seattle’s biggest employers millions

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett comments on children's privacy rights.

Datafication, Identity, and the Reorganization of the Category Individual

BKC Affiliate Juan Ortiz Freuler

Juan Ortiz Freuler

Generative AI is a minefield for copyright law

BKC Assistant Director of the Cyberlaw Clinic Jessica Fjeld writes about the challenges that arise in the realm of copyright law due to the increased use of generative AI.

Jessica Fjeld

The feds are coming for crypto. can it survive.

BKC Affiliate Molly White writes about lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against two of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

Molly White

Imagine A Community: Obscenity’s History and Moderating Speech Online

Clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic and director of the Initiative for a Representative First Amendment Kendra Albert writes about the history of obscenity’s community…

Big Tech Isn’t Prepared for A.I.’s Next Chapter

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier writes about the open-source future of generative AI.

This Harvard Law Professor is an Expert on Digital Technology

The career of Jonathan Zittrain is profiled by IEEE Spectrum.

Podcast Episode: Safer Sex Work Makes a Safer Internet

Clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic Kendra Albert discusses how an internet that is safe for sex workers is an internet that is safer for everyone.

AI Desperately Needs Global Oversight

BKC Responsible AI Fellow Rumman Chowdhury advocates for global oversight of AI.

Rumman Chowdhury

Social media platforms and challenges for democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights

BKC Faculty Associate Beatriz Botero Arcila and collaborator Rachel Griffin release a study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and…

Beatriz Botero Arcila

What’s the Future for A.I.?

BKC Affiliate Aviv Ovadya comments on the need for cross-cutting, international regulation of AI.

Aviv Ovadya

GPT-4 needs more robust testing, “red team” member says

BKC Affiliate Aviv Ovadya speaks about the need for more robust testing for GPT-4.

Grindr sends Egypt users a warning after alleged entrapments and arrests

BKC Affiliate Afsaneh Rigot comments on the arrests of LGBTQ+ people in Egypt.

Afsaneh Rigot

Supreme court to hear case on ‘bad spaniels’ v. jack daniel’s.

Rebecca Tushnet discusses the Rogers test as a standard for trademark infringement which is implicated in a current Supreme Court case involving a dog toy company spoofing Jack…

How AI could write our laws

BKC Affiliates Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier write about the potential influence of ChatGPT and generative AI on lobbying.

Nathan Sanders

Towards Responsible Quantum Technology

Urs Gasser contributed to a paper urging technologists to proceed and innovate responsibly.

The Amendment the Court Forgot in Twitter v. Taamneh

Evelyn Douek writes with Genevieve Lakier about the free speech ramifications of Twitter v Taamneh...

Evelyn Douek

Tiktok's api guidelines are a minefield for researchers.

BKC Affiliate Joe Bak-Coleman writes about TikTok’s new API designed to provide data access to qualified researchers.

Joe Bak-Coleman

New Border Force unit to deploy more surveillance tech in Channel

"Instead of investing in costly technologies, governments could be using this money to strengthen access to justice, services and psycho-social support for people who are…

Amazon's Trickle-Down Monopoly

BKC Faculty Associate Moira Weigel writes about third-party sellers and the critical role they play in lending Amazon monopolistic power.

Moira Weigel

Meet The Three Artists Behind A Landmark Lawsuit Against AI Art Generators

Jessica Fjeld is quoted discussing the viability of lawsuits involving generative AI alleged to infringe upon artists' copyright claims. "It’s a…

Technologies of Violence at the World's Sharpest Edges

BKC Faculty Associate Petra Molnar

IU Kelley prof: More TikTok suits likely

BKC Faculty Associate Abbey Stemler was interviewed about TikTok’s legal liability for failing to protect children from inappropriate content.

Abbey Stemler

Why the ‘twitter files’ are falling flat.

Joan Donovan writes about the Twitter Files and Elon Musk’s failing attempts to shape the media’s narrative.

Joan Donovan

Musk boosts Twitter’s right-wing appeal with moderation changes, ‘Twitter Files’

David Weinberger discusses the shift in Twitter’s appeal to the right following Musk’s takeover.

David Weinberger

Self-regulating platforms and anti-trust justice.

BKC Affiliate Elettra Bietti explores the distinctions and assumptions around platforms' functioning in markets.

Elettra Bietti

Twitter is not rocket science—it’s harder.

RSM Assembly Fellow Joe Bak-Coleman writes about the challenges of managing human behavior, especially as applied to…

Elon Musk Has Inherited Twitter’s India Problem

BKC Faculty Associate Evelyn Douek discusses Twitter's content moderation practices in different areas of the world.  Musk has called himself a …

Stuck in the Mud: How a Tiny, Beloved Driving Game Sparked a Bizarre, Decade-Long Feud

Micaela Mantegna spoke to IGN about the Spintire controversy. "Given how confounding this entire investigation has been, I spoke with video game lawyer and Berkman…

Micaela Mantegna

Rights holders got google to remove 6 billion links from search over 10 years.

Lumen project manager Adam Holland and Rebecca Tushnet spoke about Google’s efforts to take down links considered pirated.

Adam Holland

Threats prompt hospitals to strip websites of info on gender-affirming care.

Cyberlaw clinic’s Alejandra Caraballo discusses how children’s hospitals are taking down websites as a result of harassment and threats.

How a Texas law could impact First Amendment rights and content moderation online

BKC Harvard affiliate Julie Owono discusses online content moderation.

Julie Owono

First amendment hurdle looms for california’s social media law.

Rebecca Tushnet discusses the potential challenges to California’s new social media law under the First Amendment. 

Why the First Amendment also protects code

“The First Amendment serves as a check on government intervention into our public expression through, for example, spoken or visually signed…

Unfair Artificial Intelligence: How FTC Intervention Can Overcome the Limitations of Discrimination Law

BKC Faculty Associate Solon Barocas writes about the Federal Trade Commission's intent to regulate discriminatory AI products and services.

Solon Barocas

GOP reacts to Trump search with threats and comparisons to ‘Gestapo’

Susan Benesch, faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, said when it comes to …

Susan Benesch

As interest rates rise, a silent vampire attack on crypto.

BKC affiliate Patrick Murck writes about the “silent…

Patrick Murck

The Netflix v. 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical' lawsuit, explained

Rebecca Tushnet comments on a lawsuit filed by Netflix against The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical based on the popular Netflix show.

What’s in a name? If the name is Meta, a lawsuit.

Rebecca Tushnet discusses a lawsuit over Facebook’s name change to Meta with a competing company staking out its claim to the same name.

Bomb Body Politics: On the TSA's Algorithmic Policing of Gender

"Long before FAccT or ProPublica’s COMPAS reporting or Andrew Ferguson's book, the Department of Homeland Security was using sexist, racist algorithms to determine who to…

4 Ways the New EU Digital Acts Fall Short and How to Remedy It

BKC associates delve into the shortcomings of EU’s legislation addressing digital giants. …

Nick Couldry

Russell Newman

Velislava Hillman

Gregory Narr

Mitzi László

Public Defenders Are About to Be on the Front Lines for Protecting Abortion Rights

Alejandra Caraballo provides an overview on how surveillance technology can impact prosecutions in the Post-Roe era.

Blockchain-based application at a governmental level: disruption or illusion? The case of Estonia

BKC Faculty Associate Samer Hassan writes about the Estonian government’s applications of blockchain technology.

The Bitcoin Mining Showdown In New York’s Wine Country

Elizabeth Renieris shares about cryptocurrency's climate impact.

Elizabeth Renieris

In the Balance: Q&A with Janis Wong, PhD researcher in computer science, the University of St Andrews

Janis Wong, who recently completed a research sprint hosted by the Berkman Klein Center, speaks with McKinsey’s Stephanie Spangler about…

From Harvard to Berkeley, Clinics Train Next-Gen Tech Lawyers

Kendra Albert and Christopher Bavitz share how the Cyberlaw Clinic prepares students to address the biggest issues in cyberspace.

Christopher Bavitz

The lawfare podcast: facebook shuts down research on itself.

evelyn douek talks with Quinta Jurecic and Alex Abdo about the legal fight between researchers and Facebook about collecting data on Facebook ads. 

The Feature is the Bug

Colin Doyle explains how algorithms can expose flaws in criminal laws and the harms that they can produce.

Colin Doyle

How to Read a Docket

Mason Kortz and Kendra Albert explain how to read a court docket in a free guide

Understanding Chilling Effects

Jon Penney outlines a new framework for understanding "chilling effects" on speech.

Activision, an indie developer and the battle over the ‘Warzone’ name

Kendra Albert explains lawsuit over “Warzone” video game trademark

Taking the crypto out of digital currency

A Q&A with Primavera De Filippi

Primavera De Filippi

Ads are impersonating government websites in google results, despite ban.

Rebecca Tushnet discusses advertising law with The Markup

With a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver likely, time to rethink global intellectual property rules

An op-ed by Ruth Okediji

The software industry dodges an API tax in Oracle decision

Kendra Albert weighs in on Supreme Court's fair-use decision

Jonathan Zittrain on the Great Deplatforming

Jonathan Zittrain joins the Lawfare Podcast

Impeachment Defense, the Constitution, and Bill of Rights

Jonathan Zittrain pens an op-ed about impeachment and the First Amendment.

Trump social media ban will feature in future antitrust hearings

Jasmine McNealy discusses policy issues likely to appear on a Democratic-controlled agenda.

Jasmine McNealy

Blocking the president.

Harvard Law experts Yochai Benkler and evelyn douek weigh in on the suspension of President Trump’s social media accounts

Yochai Benkler

Movement lawyering for alternative futures.

Five community members speak about their vexed relationships to the law

Roslyn Satchel

Zahra Stardust

SolarWinds as a Constitutive Moment: A New Agenda for the International Law of Intelligence

Asaf Lubin calls the SolarWinds Hack a "constitutive moment" in Just Security

A Duty of Loyalty for Privacy Law

Scholars propose a "no conflict" rule for tech companies as a way to mitigate self-dealing behavior

Woodrow Hartzog

Elettra bietti talks antitrust with galley by cjr.

BKC affiliate joins Mathew Ingram in conversation

Despite Concessions, Experts Warn $2.1B Google-Fitbit Deal Risks Privacy, Competition

Elettra Bietti speaks with Digital Privacy News

Google-Oracle $9 billion feud faces new uncertainty after Ginsburg's death

Barbara Lauriat discusses Google v. Oracle with Yahoo Finance

Barbara Lauriat

Urs Gasser on two new books — and what’s ahead

Urs Gasser discusses his new guide on “connected parenting” and an essay series on the role of law during a pandemic

International Human Rights Law Is Not Enough to Fix Content Moderation’s Legitimacy Crisis

Should tech companies follow human rights law to govern online speech?

Brenda Dvoskin

The law is ‘tested and illuminated during this pandemic’

Martha Minow, Urs Gasser, and Jonathan Zittrain participate in colloquium on governmental powers during a pandemic

Martha Minow

Four Obstacles to Local Surveillance Ordinances

Why local ordinances against police surveillance fail in some cities but not others

Mailyn Fidler

Getting the first amendment wrong.

Woodrow Hartzog and Neil Richards argue that Clearview AI is wrongfully trying to use the First Amendment to ensure a freedom to surveil at will.

UK Court Spurns Police in First Legal Test of Face Recognition

Nani Jansen Reventlow comments on legal challenge to the use of facial recognition

Nani Jansen Reventlow

Hong kong’s mass arrests are giving police crucial intelligence: people’s phones.

Nathan Kaiser on the use of search warrants to search phones

Nathan Kaiser

Supreme Court Justices Debate Generic .Com Trademark Registration

Amicus brief from Rebecca Tushnet cited by Supreme Court Justices

A German company is responsible for the deletion of videos critical of the Albanian government

Searches in the Lumen database reveal the complexities around the rules that platforms follow when they agree to the removal of content

We need privacy and data laws to tackle this global pandemic

Governments are increasingly using digital technologies and big data analytics to address the Covid-19 pandemic. At this stage of the pandemic, these technologies may not…

Ethiopia’s new law banning online hate speech

Julie Owono explains the concern over the law

Ajunwa to Congress: Help stop employers’ AI-fueled bias

Ifeoma Ajunwa testifies in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor

How Campaigns Can Counter Deepfakes

Danielle Citron devised an eight-point plan for political campaigns to protect against fabricated video and audio

Danielle Citron

Here's why the UK is (finally) dumping Article 13 for good

The UK had plenty of opportunities to veto the controversial EU copyright legislation, so why did it wait so long to torpedo Article 13?

Healthcare general counsels explore pressing health policy and legal issues at Harvard Law School

Christopher Bavitz joined General Counsels from some of America’s health care institutions to explore pressing health policy facing companies today.

Regulate Stablecoins – Don’t Squash Them

Regulators should “offer a path for stablecoins to exist…under regulatory environments.”

Innovation, Justice and Globalization

From patent law to the challenges facing the digital commons, leading academics and policymakers from around the world discussed intellectual property issues at Harvard Law…

William Fisher

Padmashree Gehl Sampath

European Union high court sends new signals on reach of internet regulation

Can an EU member state’s court can order an internet company to take down or de-list information online?

Nikolas Guggenberger

Even Trump Can’t Turn Down a Nickelback Joke (but Twitter Did)

Lumen shows why Twitter took down a video posted by President Trump

Promoting international collaboration among digital rights scholars, teachers, advocates, and activists

A recap of the “Connecting the Digital Rights Field with Academia” workshop

Proposed Law Would Force Big Tech to Reveal Value of Consumer Data

U.S. Senate bill would require companies to report to financial regulators and to the public what consumer data they collect and how they leverage it for profit

Chrome’s privacy changes are a humbling reminder for subscription publishers

A software update to Chrome will make websites unable to detect whether visitors are browsing the web in “incognito mode”

Are Americans Getting Enough Fiber?

The U.S. is falling behind in fiber optic technology, but cities and localities are leading the way

Susan Crawford

How 13 Became the Internet’s Age of Adulthood

The inside story of COPPA, a law from the early days of e-commerce that is shaping a generation and creating a parental minefield

John Palfrey

Amid a Flurry of "Cultural Appropriation" Claims Aimed at Carolina Herrera, What is Going on (Legally)?

Research from BKC Faculty Co-Director William Fisher lends insight into the complaint

The Challenges and Nuance of Crypto Regulation

The present and future regulation of cryptocurrency

The Paradox of Automation as Anti-Bias Intervention

In some instances, automated decision-making has served to replicate and amplify bias.

Launching CAP Search

The Library Innovation Lab launches a new interface to search data made available as part of the Caselaw Access Project

L. Kelly Fitzpatrick

Machines Shouldn’t Have to Spy On Us to Learn

How do we expand the benefits of machine learning, while protecting privacy?

Zeynep Tufekci

Learn about patents with stories and pandas.

A new resource for everyday inventors explaining how the patent system works... through pandas!

AI Threats to Civil Liberties and Democracy

Chinmayi Arun of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi

Chinmayi Arun discusses the challenges unchecked AI development could pose to civil liberties in Asia.

Chinmayi Arun

Projects, programs, and tools 38, artificial intelligence and the law.

This initiative focuses on new challenges and opportunities for the law created by the rise of AI.

CopyrightX is a twelve-week networked course offered under the auspices of Harvard Law School, the HarvardX distance-learning initiative, and the Berkman Klein Center.

Cyberlaw Clinic

Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic provides high-quality, pro-bono legal services to clients on issues relating to the Internet, new technology, and intellectual property.

Internet Robustness

The Internet Robustness project is developing, testing, and piloting software and protocols to safeguard the promise of the URL: that information placed online can remain there.

Lumen collects and studies online content removal requests, providing transparency and supporting research and analysis of the Web's notice and takedown ecosystem, in terms of who…

AGTech Forum

The AGTech Forum provides opportunities for collaborative engagement among state attorneys general, technology companies, academics, and other stakeholders about innovation,…

Berkman Briefings

Berkman Briefings is a reading series sponsored by the Berkman Center that provides background information about major questions related to Internet policy, technology, and law.

Berkman Online Lecture and Discussion (BOLD) Series

We offer computer-mediated seminars through our interactive Berkman Online Lecture and Discussion (BOLD) series. Topics have included intellectual property and privacy on the…

Cloud Computing

Led by Executive Director and Harvard Law School Professor of Practice, Urs Gasser, the Berkman Center's cloud computing initiative seeks to identify and evaluate the challenges…

Cooperation

The Cooperation Group is an interdisciplinary community of scholars studying networked cooperation. Our current activities include a series of empirical research projects on…

Digital Finance Initiative

A multitude of technical, legal, policy, and economic issues around digital currencies and blockchain technologies have emerged in recent years.

Digital Health @ Harvard

The Digital Health @ Harvard collaboration brings together an interdisciplinary community of scholars, researchers, practitioners, and others at Harvard who have an interest and…

Digital Media Law Project

Founded in 2007 as the "Citizen Media Law Project," the Digital Media Law Project (DMLP) works to ensure that individuals and organizations involved in online journalism and…

Freedom To Teach: Claiming Educational Fair Use

"FREEDOM TO TEACH": The Berkman Center at Harvard University is considering a project that we hope will culminate in the widespread circulation of a Statement of Best Practices…

H2O is a Web-based platform for creating, editing, organizing, consuming, and sharing course materials.

Input to ICANN Accountability and Transparency Review Process

The Berkman Center conducted an independent, exploratory study analyzing ICANN’s decision-making processes and communications with stakeholders.

Internet Safety Technical Task Force

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) is a group of Internet businesses, non-profit organizations, academics, and technology companies that have joined together to…

Interoperability

In early June 2012, Urs Gasser and John Palfrey released Interoperability: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems. The book is inspired by their 2005 study and…

The Law Lab is a multidisciplinary research initiative and collaborative network of University, nonprofit and industry partners. Its mission is to investigate and harness the…

Net Dialogue

The Net Dialogue project strives to encourage greater public access to Net-related rulemaking by intergovernmental organizations, and to engage technologists and policymakers in…

Open ePolicy Group

We formed the Open ePolicy Group in February 2005 with members from every region of the world to share insights from governments, companies and organizations at the forefront of…

[Berkman Project 2001-2002] Openlaw is an experiment in crafting legal argument in an open forum.

Publius Project

The Publius project is a collection of essays and conversations about constitutional moments on the Net.

Rethink Music

The Berkman Center works in collaboration with Berklee College of Music on a variety of initiatives under the Rethink Music banner, examining the law, policy, and business…

The Judicial Gatekeeping Project

The seminar's focus is on the "gate-keeping" role of judges. Ever since the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Daubert v. Richardson Merrill-Dow in 1993, questions have…

eInnovation and ICT Interoperability

This project aims to achieve a better understanding of interoperability—that is, the ability of entities such as software, devices, or components to exchange information—in the…

eLangdell : The Legal Ed Commons

eLangdell enables law professors to share valuable teaching resources across a nationwide digital commons.

Doaa Abu-Elyounes

Faculty Associate

Ana Andrijevic

Pablo Baquero

Mike Bennett

Francine Berman

Fernando Bermejo

Maja Bogataj Jančič

Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Lauren Emily Bridges

Ryan Budish

Sidharth Chauhan

A. Feder Cooper

Sasha Costanza-Chock

Sebastian Diaz

Karthik Dinakar

Tomás Dodds

Judith Donath

Jackie Dorward

Ben Eidelson

Niva Elkin-Koren

Samson Esayas

Robert Faris

Paul Fehlinger

Camille Francois

Johnathan Frankle

Diana Freed

Mayo Fuster Morell

Cecilia Garraffo

Shira Gur-Arieh

Benjamin Mako Hill

Malavika Jayaram

Sanjay Jolly

Margot Kaminski

Mek Karpeles

Danil Kerimi

Vasilis Kostakis

Vivek Krishnamurthy

Rosemary Leith

Maroussia Lévesque

Harry Lewis

Colin Maclay

Faith Majekolagbe

William Marks

Ryan Merkley

Peter Micek

Andras Molnar

Dylan Moses

Jacquelene Mwangi

Charles Nesson

Aileen Nielsen

David O'Brien

Ngozi Okidegbe

David Opderbeck

Desmond Patton

Najarian Peters

Kenya-Jade Pinto

Trisha Prabhu

Aprajita Rana

César Rodríguez-Garavito

Claudio Ruiz

Holli Sargeant

Jeffrey Schnapp

Elaine Sedenberg

Stuart Shieber

Ram Shankar Siva Kumar

John Stubbs

Peter Suber

Rebecca Tabasky

Kerstin Vokinger

Sandra Wachter

Shlomit Wagman

j. Siguru Wahutu

Anne Washington

Christo Wilson

Crystal Yang

Research subject Law and Information Technology

Law and Information Technology examines the relationship and interaction between law and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). The areas of interest include the interpretation and development of regulations in the digital society, as well as the methods for legally customised system design and management.

Legal informatics spans several traditional areas of law, including law of contract, commercial law, copyright and administrative law. The subject is usually divided into a matrix-oriented part and a methodology-oriented part. The first part - usually referred to as IT law - covers legal issues that arise in connection with the use of IT. This includes everything from the use of computers and the Internet in handling information, to telecommunications and various forms of media. IT law also covers issues such as information security, processing of personal data, trade secrets, publicity and confidentiality, etc.

The method-oriented part of legal informatics in turn deals with regulations and methodological issues that arise in the development of digitised systems and applications. The importance of a legal approach to digitisation has become increasingly important in the context of society's growing use of digital systems and artificial intelligence (AI), both in the automation of legal proceedings and in the use of various forms of apps. The rapid developments in this field are constantly raising new questions about how laws, rules and ethical guidelines can and should be applied, making legal informatics an extremely dynamic area of research.

Related research subject

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Researchers

Cecilia Magnusson Sjöberg

Katarina Fast Lappalainen

Universitetslektor

Kacper Filip Szkalej

Liane Rose Colonna

Ass. lektor, docent

Christine Storr

Univ. adjunkt

This project addresses fundamental ethical and legal challenges that AI technologies bring to learning and teaching in higher education. It will provide knowledge about how to conceptually and empirically approach these challenges, but most importantly: How to deal with ethical issues in practice.

Genre photo showing a large number of crayons in different colors. Photo: Peter F/Unsplash.

The goal of thid cross-disciplinary collaboration is to design and implement a novel data management and analytics framework for medical data sources. The focus is on explainable machine learning methods as well as on legal and ethical aspects of the predictive models.

PhD project that aims to examine legal information retrieval, the concept of legal information within the framework of the doctrine of legal sources and the information-seeking behavior of lawyers.

Illustration of stack of books flying from computer

PhD Research Project about the right to compensation and liability for damages caused by processing of personal data.

Research project that investigates the link between new technologies and optimal operation of buildings. The aim is to create better conditions for the optimal operation of smart buildings.

Path2Integrity is a European project – funded by the European Commission – that raises awareness about research integrity and educates on how to argue in favour of responsible research and reliable research results.

What are the regulatory challenges when designing new systems for waste management? The topic will be explored in this research project. Our aim is to expand the understanding of interactions between environmental sustainability, local regulations and digital innovation.

Glass sphere in the forest, reflections of tree, grass and sun.

PhD Project that is a part of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Action project visuAAL - Privacy-Aware and Acceptable Video-Based Technologies and Services for Active and Assisted Living.

EU framework for AI usage will soon be established

During Sweden's current presidency of the Council of the European Union, the upcoming AI-act is one of the issues on the table. And it is a regulation that is highly important, according to several researchers at the Department of Law, Stockholm University.

Camera lens with healthcare-related icons above. Processed image.

VisuAAL-projects at SU Law examine legal aspects of AAL technologies

Video-based technology can be of great help in the care of older adults, but at the same time raises several questions of a legal nature. At SU Law, two PhD students are currently studying these issues within the framework of an EU major research program.

Law in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute (IRI) has newly launched the publication of the Nordic Yearbook of Law and Informatics 2020–2021: Law in the Era of Artificial Intelligence.

Departments and centres

Centres and other units.

The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute (IRI) explores the interaction between Law and Information Technology. The topic is a meeting place for traditional legal studies, information science and information technology. Through this subject, the legal system acquires new working tools for the handling of source material, legal proceedings become automated and legal activities take on a new guise. Law and Information Technology focuses on both methodological issues and regulative issues.

The activities started in 1968 and are to a large extent project oriented. Apart from research, IRI is engaged in educational activities and Law and Information Technology (“Rättsinformatik”) has since the early 1980s been a compulsory component in the legal education at Stockholm University.

The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute

Departments

By offering a wide range of academic programmes in law bringing together researchers, teachers and students from different horizons, the Department of Law at Stockholm University creates strong and stimulating educational and research environments of the highest class.

Information Technology

UC CECH » Academic Schools » School of Information Technology » Graduate Programs » Ph.D. Information Technology » Program and Application Requirements

Why study Information Technology?

The Doctor of Philosopy (PhD) in Information Technology provides students with the necessary skills to provide applied research in evidence-based, human-centered, and secure information technology (IT) practice. The program prepares students to educate future IT professionals at the K12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. Graduates of our doctoral degree program in Information Technology are also prepared to become key leaders in organizations and enterprises to develop IT solutions for consumers or businesses.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:

Completed a baccalaureate degree from an ABET-accredited Information Technology degree program with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. ABET is a nonprofit certified organization that accredits college and university programs in Applied and Natural Science, Engineering, and Engineering Technology.
Completed an undergraduate degree and (a) completed a minimum of 18 graduate-level course work in Information Technology with a GPA of 3.5 or above, or (b) completed significant years of professional experience in information technology as determined by the graduate director.

Other requirements:

While it is not a requirement, applicants may include Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores to demonstrate their potential for success in the doctoral program. This is highly recommended for applicants who have not yet completed a Master's degree.
For international applicants: Submission of a transcript evaluation by a NACES member is required in place of the unofficial transcript(s) to reflect both a converted GPA (on a 4.0 scale) as well as the US equivalence of the degree earned.
References should be from credible sources who speak to relevant IT experience and/or work ethic; two or more reference letters should be on letterhead.
A resume or curriculum vita (CV). Include any prior research or teaching experience and a list of publications with full citations, if applicable
Applicants are encouraged to share a copy of a Master's thesis and/or academic publication(s) to further demonstrate aptitude for doctoral level research and writing skills. This documentation can be uploaded in the "Additional Materials" section of the application.
English Profiency Scores (if applicable)

Graduates of the program will be prepared to hold positions in academia as assistant professors of Information Technology or other related computing disciplines. In the industry, graduates of the program will be able to hold positions in research and development in a variety of IT-related organizations, medical research organizations, financial organizations, social media organizations, government, among many others.

For question regarding advising, please contact Nicole Cochran , Associate Director of Graduate Education.

The following exams and minimum scores are accepted as proof of English proficiency:

TOEFL: minimum score of 80 iBT
IELTS: minimum score of 6.5 overall band
Duolingo (DET): minimum score of 110
PTE: minimum score of 54
Guide: IT PhD 2019-2020 post-master's
Guide: IT PhD 2019-2020 post-baccalaureate

Application Deadlines

Early Admission

General Admission

Prospective students are admitted once per year in the Fall semester: the application deadline is January 31.

Contact Information

Find related programs in the following interest areas:.

Computers & Technology

Program Code: 18DOC-IT-PHD

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Technology / Information Technology (IT) Law

LL.M. in Technology / Information Technology (IT) Law

An LL.M. in Information Technology (IT) or Technology Law can be a great choice for many people, especially those who want to leverage their strong technical skills to open up a new, promising law practice area.

Information Technology—often shortened to just "IT"—is increasingly governed by a range of complex laws and regulations. The rise of the internet and the ubiquity of computers have virtually assured that there are is a lot of work for LL.M. graduates specializing in cyberlaw. Emerging topics like digital currencies such as bitcoin, the rise of 'fake news,' and blockchain mean that lawyers who work in the technology space must keep up-to-date on all the current regulations surrounding IT law.

Technology-centric LL.M. programs will cover many aspects important to laws in the information age. Required courses might cover topics...

Technology-centric LL.M. programs will cover many aspects important to laws in the information age. Required courses might cover topics like the governance of the internet and intellectual property (IP) law, for example. Often, LL.M. students will also have the opportunity to take electives which will allow them to delve into specific areas of cyberlaw and related fields, such as media law, electronic transactions / e-commerce, and trade law, for example.

These IT-oriented LL.M. programs may be offered on a full-time or part-time basis; and some schools may even offer their curriculum in an online degree format.

Those who graduate with an Information Technology LL.M. program have the opportunity to pursue a range of careers in the space, from working in IP law in a law firm, to startup consulting and even working as part of a technology regulatory organization.

See below for a complete list of law schools offering LL.M. programs in Technology or IT Law.

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Full-Time: Master of Laws LLM, Competition Law LLM, European Law LLM, Intellectual Property & Information Law LLM, International Business Law LLM more…

Full-Time: Air and Space Law (Advanced LL.M.), Comparative Criminal Justice (LL.M.), European and International Business Law (Advanced LL.M.), European... more…

Full-Time: American Law LL.M., LL.M. in Civil Litigation and Advocacy, LL.M. in Criminal Justice, LL.M. in Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, LL.M. in Enter... more…

Distance Learning: Online Master of Laws (Tax LLM) more…

Full-Time: LL.M., LLCM (Masters in Comparative Law), Master in Law (ML) more…

Part-Time: Artificial Intelligence, Industry, and the Law Certificate Program, Regulatory Analysis and Decision-Making Certificate Program, U.S. Corpor... more…

By Research: SJD Program more…

Dual Degree: LL.M. / MFS (Master's in International Finance and Law), JD / LL.M. more…

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Full-Time: European Private Law LL.M., European Competition Law and Regulation (International and European Law) LL.M., European Union Law (Internationa... more…

Full-Time: Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Business Law more…

Dual Degree: Dual-Degree Master of Laws (LL.M.) / Master in Public Administration (MPA) or Master in Public Policy (MPP), NUS LLM (International Arbitrat... more…

Full-Time: LL.M. in Law, LL.M. in Commercial Law, LL.M. in Comparative and European Private Law, LL.M. in Corporate Law, LL.M. in Criminal Law and Crim... more…

Distance Learning: LL.M. in Law, LL.M. International Commercial Law and Practice, LL.M. in Information Technology Law, LL.M. in Innovation, Technology and the... more…

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Full-Time: LL.M. (Master of Laws), LL.M. in Art, Business and Law, LL.M. in Banking and Finance Law, LL.M. in Commercial and Corporate Law, LL.M. in Co... more…

Part-Time: Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Postgraduate Diploma in Law more…

Distance Learning: LL.M. in International Dispute Resolution, Postgraduate Diploma in Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law, International Relations MA more…

By Research: PhD more…

Dual Degree: Sorbonne Law School - Queen Mary University of London Double LL.M., Dual LL.M. in Commercial Law (London & Singapore) more…

Full-Time: Master of Laws in Energy and Climate Law, Master of Laws in European Law in a Global Context, Master of Laws in Global Criminal Law, Master... more…

Part-Time: Advanced LLM in Energy Law more…

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Full-Time: Master of Laws (LL.M.), Two-Year Extended LL.M., Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution (LL.M. in ADR), Master of Laws (LLM) in Pr... more…

Distance Learning: Master of Laws (LL.M.), Online Master of Studies in Law (MSL), Online Certificates in Business Law, Compliance, Entertainment Law & Industry... more…

Full-Time: LL.M. in Banking, Corporate, and Finance Law, LL.M. in Corporate Compliance, LL.M. in Fashion Law, LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Inform... more…

Distance Learning: Online LL.M. in U.S. Law more…

By Research: Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) more…

Full-Time: LL.M. Law - General Legal Studies, LL.M. Law - Commercial Law, LL.M. Law – Employment, Work and Equality, LL.M. Law - Health, Law and Societ... more…

By Research: PhD in Law more…

Full-Time: LL.M. in U.S. Law, Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law LL.M., Health Law LL.M., Intellectual Property & Information Law LL.M., In... more…

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The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course

This course offers a comprehensive understanding of the rapidly evolving field of IT's legal and ethical aspects, exploring the interplay between technology, law, and ethics. Topics covered include intellectual property rights, data privacy, cybersecurity, digital rights management, social media, artificial intelligence, and the societal impacts of emerging technologies. We'll also delve into ethical considerations and legal frameworks guiding IT decision-making. Join us to navigate this dynamic landscape while upholding legal and ethical principles.

Course level

Course duration

max. 8 weeks

Estimated time per week

10-15 hours

Course prerequisites

Course credits

Relevant jobs

The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course Overview

Appraise the role of law and ethics in ICT.

Demonstrate the role of ICT ethics in culturally competent modern organizations.

Defend the importance of privacy and data protection in the digital age.

Assess the value of attributing and proper licensing in software, content, and other intellectual property.

Recognize ethical issues and make sound decisions by ethical principles and professional codes of conduct.

professional codes of conduct. Analyze the need for ethical principles and guidelines in ICT research and demonstrate analysis through devising a project demonstrating principles and guidelines.

Combine ethical principles and potential legal implications when organizations make decisions to utilize ICT and collect various user data.

The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course Skills

How will i learn, learning experience.

Your course starts on the first of the month. The course consists of 6 modules, and is designed to take you eight weeks to complete. Nexford’s learning design team has purposefully created courses to equip you with competencies mapped to the skills employers are looking for. Each course has 5-7 learning outcomes based on the skills employers need. Everything you learn gives you measurable skills you will use to succeed in today’s world of work.

Nexford courses are not live or recorded lectures. Instead, they’re reading, videos, interactive elements, quizzes and relevant case studies. Programs include assessments, peer-to-peer discussions, and a final project to practice what you’ve learned in a real-world context. Program content is available 24/7 during the course, and you have opportunities for collaboration and networking with learners during and after your program. Our global community of learners work at top companies such as Microsoft, Deloitte, and Google .

You'll have 24/7 access to success advisors to support you. Faculty also provide you world-class support. Book appointments with them, get individual feedback, and attend regular optional webinars.Nexford courses are rigorous and they encourage critical thinking - because we care about what you know how to do not what you know you have regular hands-on assessments reflecting the business world.

Course Outline

How will i be graded.

View the catalog to learn about how this course is graded.

What will I get after completing the course?

You'll get real skills you can use at work, straight away.

Once you've taken one course, you can take more. Using stacked credentials, you’re able to take enough courses to make a certificate, and take enough certificates to build a degree.

If you apply for a Nexford certificate or degree, you'll get credit for each course you take.

What support will I receive?

When you have a dedicated team on your side, you'll never be alone studying at Nexford. Hailing from many different countries and with online education expertise, our faculty provides you world-class support. Ask them questions during one-to-one office hours or live chat , email them any time, and get individual feedback on your assessments.

While you’re learning, you’ll also have full access to the Nexford online library, which includes access to millions of full-text articles, industry reports and key sources such as the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and The Economist.

LinkedIn Learning: unlimited access with Nexford

Support your Nexford goals with access to LinkedIn Learning during your program, at no additional cost. Explore the learning hub of the globe’s biggest professional networking platform to:

Power your career: choose from over 16,000 expert-led courses, from remote working to data science
Show off your skills: earn a certificate when you complete a course
See what’s trending: LinkedIn Learning adds 25 new courses each week
Tailor your learning: choose relevant courses based on your experience, LinkedIn profile and goals
Test what you’ve learned: use LinkedIn Learning assessments

Questions? We’re here to help

Frequently asked questions

The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course Testimonials

When I started at Nexford I found a direction.

Each course is like a door opening.

My weekly reflective journal is my Nexford highlight. Thanks to faculty support, I continually apply principles to my enterprise – and I've been able to scale beyond considerable measure.

I don't have to spend a fortune to earn a high-quality MBA.

Florida State University

FSU | College of Law

College of Law

Academic Programs

Information Technology and Law

The College of Law and School of Information joint graduate pathway in law and information technology, J.D./M.S.I.T. , permits the completion of both degrees concurrently. Current law students must meet with and submit all documents for admission to the College of Law joint graduate pathway coordinator before July 1 following their first year of law school. The College of Law joint graduate pathway coordinator will then submit their completed packet to the College of Law and the School of Information for approval. Any student who has completed M.S.I.T. coursework prior to matriculating to the College of Law, or who wishes to apply for the joint graduate pathway after beginning their second year of law school, must obtain prior written approval from the College of Law before applying for the joint graduate pathway.

Applicants to the M.S.I.T. program must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, an upper division (junior and senior) grade point average of 3.0 or better, and prior information technology coursework or work experience. Applicants should contact the School of Information to obtain specific information on the necessary GRE requirement. The School of Information will waive the GRE requirement for current College of Law students.

Information Technology and Law Program Information

J.D. Program in Information and Technology Law at Cornell Tech Campus

At the Cornell Tech campus, you’ll explore the diverse legal issues raised by information and technology, such as privacy and cybersecurity as well as the constitutional and regulatory implications of new technology and big data. And, you’ll be taught by leading experts, which have included current and former law firm partners, the CEO of a legal tech company executives, in-house privacy counsel, law faculty from Cornell Law School, and many others drawn from the New York City legal and technology communities. You may also take courses offered through the Johnson School offered at the Cornell Tech campus, subject to the usual restrictions on the number of credits that may be taken outside the Law School, and any prerequisites or instructor permission that may be required by the course.

In addition, you are eligible for and encouraged to seek out part-time externships. Our course programming concentrates most classes on three days a week so that you can engage in externship opportunities at technology companies, with judges, or in legal aid organizations.

Please note: Some law courses offered at Cornell Tech are streamed to Myron Taylor.

Law of Financial Technology
Internet Law, Privacy, and Security
Cyber Enforcement, Regulation, and Policy Analysis
Consumer Data Privacy
Trade Secrets Law and Practice
Intellectual Property
Law of Robots
Digital Health Law
Practical Lawyering
Internet Transactions

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Information Technology PhD Program

Doctoral Program

The PhD in Information Technology provides a research-intensive focus in the interdisciplinary areas of information systems, cyber security, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This program prepares individuals for careers in academia, government, and/or industry.

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Professor teaching in UTSA IT PhD program

Why Pursue an Information Technology PhD

Commitment to research and a passion for teaching are two of the qualities that distinguish both our doctoral faculty and our graduates. Doctoral students work closely with faculty members in small classes, seminars, research projects and other assignments, aimed towards developing the analytical skills competencies to conduct independent quality research. Full-time professionals can balance career and education by completing the program as a part-time student.

Research Opportunities

In the Alvarez College of Business, faculty consistently publishes in premier information systems journals, such as MIS Quarterly , Information Systems Research , and Journal of Management Information Systems , and premier cyber security and data analytics journals such as IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing , IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security , and IEEE Transactions on Big Data . Faculty publications are also listed as highly cited (top 1% in discipline) and hot (top 0.1% in discipline) on the Thomson Reuters (now known as Clarivate Analytics) Web of Science database. In turn, this also helps students keep current and aware of trends/changes in the fields of Information Systems, Cyber Security, Data Analytics and AI.

Register for an Info Session

Interested in learning more about UTSA’s Carlos Alvarez College of Business Information Technology PhD program? Register to attend an upcoming Information Session where you’ll have the opportunity to review application procedures, learn admissions requirements and ask questions.

National Endorsements

UTSA has been designated as a Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in the areas of CAE-Education, CAE-Operations and CAE-Research and is one of only 10 institutions in the nation to achieve all three designations.

Careers in Higher Education and Research

The primary focus of a doctoral program is to prepare qualified candidates for academic careers in higher education, teaching, and research. Data predicts a strong demand for business school faculty for the next 15 years. Becoming a university faculty member is a gratifying experience that offers collaboration with students and other faculty, as well as fair compensation.

When you earn your degree, you will be prepared to start your professional career as an assistant professor at an academic institution. Faculty mentors at UTSA can assist you with finding the perfect job upon graduation. Program graduates are also qualified to hold research positions in government and industry.

Admission Requirements

Application Deadlines

Funding opportunities, career options, admission & application requirements.

Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application . Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.

Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.

Full-time PhD students are generally funded with our financial package which consists of a research or teaching assistantship with paid tuition and fees for up to four (4) years. Part-time PhD students do not qualify for guaranteed funding however additional resources may be available.

For more information about graduate funding, click below.

UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.

Earning a Master's Degree

While in a doctoral program, a student may earn a master’s degree provided the following conditions are satisfied:

A student must be admitted to candidacy.
A student is eligible to receive a master’s degree upon completion of University-wide requirements and any additional degree requirements specific to the program.
The Doctoral Studies Committee, Department Chair, and the Graduate Associate Dean of the College must recommend students for the degree.
The student must apply for graduation by the published deadline the semester prior to awarding the doctoral degree.
All required coursework in the doctoral program at the time of admission to candidacy must have been taken within the previous six years.
If the master’s degree requires a thesis, the degree cannot be awarded on the basis of the doctoral qualifying examination.
Students will not be approved for an additional master’s degree in the same field in which an individual has previously received a master’s degree.

Course Offerings & Schedule

The Ph.D. in Information Technology can be either a full or part-time program.

Most courses are offered during the day and full-time students must enroll for nine hours in the fall semester, nine hours in the spring semester and three hours in the summer semester. We do not recommend working full-time if you plan to pursue the full-time program.

This program is does not offer a hybrid or fully online modality. All PhD programs in the college are in-residence and admitted students are expected to complete the program in-person.

PhD full-time students normally serve as either a teaching assistant or research assistant throughout the program. These experiences are an important part of the training and overall doctoral experience.

Graduate Placements

Binghamton University – SUNY
Bissantz Software Co. Augsburg, Germany
California Polytechnic University
Ernst & Young
Kennesaw State University
Idaho State University
Kansas State University
Lamar University
Louisiana Tech University
LSU Shreveport
San Diego State University
Southwestern University of Finance & Economics, China
Tecnológico de Monterrey
University Al Ain Abu Dhabi, UAE
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Colorado – Denver
University of Health at Bethesda
University of Houston
University of Montana – Missoula
University of Nevada at Reno
University of Portland
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
U.S. Government

Frequently Asked Questions

Admission process, what are the key factors on which admissions are based, and who decides.

Admission is based on

Undergraduate transcripts (and graduate, if applicable)
Standardized test scores
Recommendations from former professors or employers who can speak to your ability to do doctoral-level work at UTSA

The admission committee is looking for evidence that you understand the specific nature of the program that you are applying for, that you can articulate your scholarly intentions that fit with the research interests of current faculty and that you are academically prepared to succeed in the program.

The most important part of your application is your statement of purpose. Although outstanding grades and test scores are important, you should construct a clear, persuasive, well-written statement of purpose in order to be competitive.

I am completing an undergraduate degree. Am I eligible to apply?

Yes; however, you must take additional leveling courses and complete any graduate coursework where your academic background is insufficient. The catalog states that the PhD requirement is “66 hours beyond the master’s degree.” Therefore, the time required to complete a PhD will most likely be much longer for a candidate without a master’s degree than for a candidate with a master’s degree.

When are admission decisions made?

Admission decisions are typically made in March; however, exceptionally qualified candidates are considered earlier.

Can I submit GMAT/GRE test scores after the application deadline?

No. All application documents must be received by the application deadline and incomplete applications will not be considered. You will be required to upload unofficial copies within the Graduate Admissions Application.

Can I wait to submit the foreign credential evaluation (ECE transcript) until after I am accepted to UTSA?

No. Foreign credential evaluations must be received by the application deadline for your application to be processed. Processing time may take up to three weeks, and students should plan accordingly with the admission deadlines of the programs for which they are applying.

Do you accept WES transcript evaluations?

All NACES accredited evaluators are accepted.

Program Expectations

What should i expect as a doctoral student.

Your role and the expectations will change as you progress in the program. Initially, your role will be as a student with the expectation that you attend and participate in doctoral seminars with other students. Expect to read a great deal and write papers.

To prepare to become a university professor, you will work closely with faculty members to learn how to teach. You will start as a teaching assistant and work toward teaching classes independently.

Conducting research is another area of focus where you will work closely with faculty on research projects. Under the direction of a faculty committee, you will conduct original research that will be the basis for your dissertation.

How long does this program take to complete?

Most students will need four years. Plan for at least two years to complete the coursework. Add another year to pass the comprehensive exams, develop a dissertation topic and defend your dissertation proposal. Dedicate your final year(s) to dissertation research.

Are PhD students required to teach?

Teaching is crucial to your academic career and job prospects. Every PhD student should gain teaching experience before graduating. Initially, students may work as research assistants for faculty members and may also assist in teaching various courses. For students who receive stipends, they will most likely teach an undergraduate course at the Carlos Alvarez College of Business during their program.

What are the research requirements of the PhD program?

The PhD program requires students to research while they complete formal coursework and during the summers. As research assistants, students work with faculty members in joint research activities and pursue their research objectives under the supervision of faculty members. The goal is to create papers to present at academic meetings and submit to research publications by the time the student is ready to begin their dissertation research. To be competitive in the academic job market, students should prioritize producing papers and publications while in the program.

As a PhD student, who will advise me?

Your program admission will identify an initial PhD advisor. However, as your interests and research agenda develop toward preparing a dissertation proposal, a different faculty member may emerge as the appropriate advisor for your dissertation research. Your initial advisor will help you assemble a program committee of faculty, who will advise you regarding your dissertation.

Can you waive my application fee?

You may request an application waiver if

You are a McNair Scholar
Active-duty military or a veteran of the US Armed Forces
If you are an applicant who has attended a PhD Project Conference

Please complete the Request to Waive Doctoral Application Fee if you meet one or more of the above criteria.

Approved applicants will receive a single-use coupon code to enter into the payment field of the online application.

Can you waive the GMAT/GRE test score requirement?

We do not offer waivers for standardized test scores.

Is there a waiver for the TOEFL/IELTS exam requirement?

TOEFL scores may be waived for international students from countries where English is the official language or for non-citizens of the United States who have earned a regionally accredited bachelor’s degree or higher in the United States (or other countries where English is the official language) as indicated in the Graduate Catalog ( https://catalog.utsa.edu/policies/admission/graduate/internationalgraduatestudents/ ).

Graduate Advisor of Record

Philip Menard, PhD

210-458-8023

20 Best Online PhD in Information Technology Programs [2024 IT Doctorate Guide]

An online PhD in information technology (IT) can help you advance your studies in one of the fastest-growing fields in America.

Editorial Listing ShortCode:

Before you apply, however, there are a few things that you should know about eligibility, coursework, financial assistance, and the admissions process.

Universities Offering Information Technology Online Ph.D. Degree Programs

Methodology: The following school list is in alphabetical order. To be included, a college or university must be regionally accredited and offer degree programs online or in a hybrid format.

1. Bowling Green State University

PhD in Technology Management

Bowling Green State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

2. Capella University

PhD in Information Technology

Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

3. Capitol Technology University

PhD in Technology

Capitol Technology University is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Universities and Schools.

4. City University of Seattle

Doctor of Information Technology

The City University of Seattle is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

5. Colorado Technical University

Doctor of Management – Technology Management

Colorado Technical University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

6. Dakota State University

PhD in Information Systems

Dakota State is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

7. Indiana State University

Indiana State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

8. Iowa State University

Iowa State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

9. Liberty University

DBA in Information Systems

Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

10. North Carolina A & T State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

11. National University

PhD in Technology and Innovation Management

National University is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

12. Nova Southeastern University

NSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

13. Texas Tech University

PhD in Business Administration – Management Information Systems

Texas Tech University is accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

14. Towson University

Doctor of Science in Information Technology

Towson University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

15. University of Arkansas

The U of A is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

16. University of Bridgeport

The University of Bridgeport is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

17. University of Central Missouri

The University of Central Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

18. University of Illinois – Chicago

PhD in Management Information Systems

The University of Illinois at Chicago is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

19. University of the Cumberlands

The University of the Cumberlands is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

20. Walden University

Walden is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission.

Online PhD in Information Technology Degrees

There are several ways to earn a doctorate degree in information technology. The first option is a generalist program the teaches broad, wide-ranging skills that can be applied to many different jobs. The other options involve specialized PhD programs where you are expected to concentrate your studies on a single area of expertise.

Information Technology

Information technology – cyber security.

Both of these fields offer plenty of opportunities for growth and careers to pursue.

Information technology draws from many disciplines, including business, finance, mathematics, and computer science. A PhD program is designed to strengthen students skills in these core areas while also preparing them for high-level research projects or leadership positions in the industry.

A doctorate degree in IT comes in two forms:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Information Technology
Doctor of Information Technology (DIT)

Each type of online information technology degree can help you learn many of the same things, and there’s a lot of crossover between classes, internships, and fellowships. Some colleges even promote the programs interchangeably.

If you want a specific acronym after your name, however, make sure that you’re following the right academic track.

software developers working together on a project

Cybersecurity is just one of the specializations that you can focus on with a graduate degree in information technology. It is designed to teach students all about computer systems and how to build, organize, connect, modify, and defend them.

There are several sub-specialties within cybersecurity studies, including:

Data analytics
Research methods
Information systems

You might be required to take some or all of these courses even if you aren’t specializing. Many well-rounded cybersecurity degrees touch on many different disciplines to give students a diverse range of skills and abilities.

PhD in Information Technology Curriculum & Courses

PhD in Information technology student studying online

Your classes as a PhD student will depend on what and where you’re studying. Every degree program is different. Speaking very generally, however, here are some names that you will likely see in a course catalog:

Computer or Technology Foundation – Some colleges require these “entry-level” courses to make sure that you’re on par with other IT students. You might be allowed to waive them if you’ve already earned a bachelor’s or master’s in information technology.
Applied Research Methods – You’ll spend a lot of time reading and referencing materials as a PhD student. These classes can help you refine your methods while also teaching you how to find, organize, and present information in a professional way.
Data Analysis – Analytics are the backbone of an information technology degree, so you might be offered several courses in both quantitative and qualitative data analytics.
Information Systems – Information systems are another critical component of IT, so expect to see many high-level classes in networks, databases, algorithms, and systems administration.
Mathematics – Some IT programs offer graduate-level study in things like statistics and linear models. They’re usually optional unless you’re specializing in a math-heavy concentration.
Teacher Training Seminar – If your career goals are in the educational field, you might be required to take teacher-training courses. Be aware that they could have face-to-face requirements despite being part of an online program.
Cybersecurity – This is a degree in its own right, but many IT programs touch on the basics of data, privacy, and security. If you’re specializing in it, you may be able to expect advanced classes in cryptology, intrusion detection, systems design, web security, and information assurance.
Programming – You can take programming classes at every level of study, including the doctorate level. You’ll need them for coding, debugging, and testing software systems.
Dissertation Research and Preparation – Many PhD programs require a dissertation. You can usually take classes to help you prepare. They tend to offer research opportunities, technical skill-building, and academic guidance from professors, advisors, and mentors.

These few courses might be available to you if you’re seeking a PhD in information technology online. There will be plenty of others, so make sure to check out the course catalog.

PhD in Information Technology Careers & Salaries

Information technology can be a very profitable career. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , computer and information systems managers make on average $151,150 per year or $72.67 per hour.

That’s just an average, too. The biggest earners in the field can take home as much as $208,000 per year or $100 per hour. Other careers can be just as rewarding:

Again, these are just averages, so be sure to look at the full ranges of what you can earn. It might be more; it might be less. You won’t get a realistic sense of a PhD in information technology salary until you look at all of the numbers.

Ultimately, these average annual salaries is what makes getting a PhD in this field worth it. The anticipated return on investment for a PhD degree is much higher than that of an accelerated information technology degree online , or even just a bachelor’s degree in IT.

Choosing an Online PhD in Information Technology Degree

PhD in information technology student studying at a cafe

Maybe you’ve decided to take the plunge and get an online PhD in information technology. Which universities should you consider? Where do you have the best chances of being admitted to a graduate program?

While everyone has their own criteria for a good school, there are some important things that students should think about.

Accreditation – You’ll want to get your PhD from a reputable university. Programmatic accreditation is optional but regional and national accreditation is not.
Selectivity – Some graduate programs are more competitive than others. Make sure to look at all of their admission requirements, and think about applying to back-up schools in addition to your top choices.
Online accessibility – Can you do everything online? Will any seminars or workshops require face-to-face meetings? Are the classes synchronous or asynchronous?
Specializations – This doesn’t matter if you’re going for a general information technology degree, but if you want to focus your studies on something specific, this means finding a doctorate program with the courses and concentrations that are relevant to you.

No matter if you are considering an online PhD or an online master’s in information technology , a general rule of thumb is that it’s a good idea to start your college search early. Don’t wait until the last minute to start gathering materials and filling out applications. Give yourself several months to do your research, make your inquiries, and talk to other PhD candidates.

Admissions Requirements

PhD in Information Technology student studying on his laptop

Admissions to a doctorate program can be quite competitive. Classes are typically kept small, and there’s usually a limited amount of funding for things like research projects and financial aid, so colleges have high standards for the PhD students that they’re willing to take on.

Here are a few things that might be required for a doctorate program:

College transcripts – All graduate schools will want to see your GPA. They might also look for interest and proficiency in related subjects such as computer science, data structures, software development, systems engineering, and network administration.
Graduate test scores – There are several standardized tests for graduate students, including the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Your school may or may not require them for admission into their IT program.
Resume or CV – Are you already active in the field? Would you bring any particular skills or experiences to the doctorate program? This is the place to make them known.
Letters of recommendation – These can come from professors, mentors, bosses, and other people in a position of authority, but they’ll hold extra weight from alumni of the school or graduate program that you’re trying to enter.
Statement of purpose – This is the graduate version of a personal essay. It’s your chance to sell yourself as a PhD candidate by detailing your work, education, research, career goals, and more.

At the end of the day, since every university is different, it’s important to do your homework about their individual graduate programs. They’ll have varying standards as well as their own unique practices and prerequisites.

Accreditation

As a degree holder, you probably already know about the importance of college accreditation. But were you aware that it’s just as critical for graduate students as undergrads?

For starters, it can take a while to complete a PhD program. You might be in school for anywhere from 3 – 5 years, possibly longer. If you ever need to transfer, it’s important that your credits transfer with you.

Another potential issue is your eligibility for various projects and programs. You could be rejected for things like grants and research opportunities if you aren’t attending an accredited grad school. You could also struggle to find employment with an unaccredited degree.

All things considered, it’s worth the effort of finding an accredited PhD program. Here are the three types of accreditation to consider:

Regional accreditation
National accreditation
Programmatic accreditation

For more information, check out the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) . Not only do they explain the ins and outs of accreditation, but they also have databases, directories, and search engines for everything from individual colleges to overall program types.

PhD in Information Technology Professional Organizations

Industry organizations can provide many resources to students and working professionals. You don’t have to join one, but their benefits are often worth their membership dues. Here are just a couple of groups that might interest you as an IT student:

Association of I nformation Technology Professionals – CompTIA is a network for both students and professionals in the IT world. It offers scholarships, competitions, events, products, career counseling, and more. College attendees can take advantage of a reduced-rate student membership.
Society for Information Management – SIM is for senior professionals in information technology. You might not qualify for membership while you’re still in school, but when you meet their criteria, you’ll have access to all kinds of legal, technical, financial, and academic benefits.

There are other organizations that welcome IT students as well, so don’t be afraid to shop around. Look for a professional network that suits your exact needs, interests, and career goals.

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Financial aid for PhD in Information Technology students

Financial aid is a little different as a graduate student, but it’s still possible to get it. Your first step should be filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You might have heard that PhD students aren’t eligible for Pell Grants anymore, but that’s only partially true; there are circumstances where low-income students can still receive it.

You may also have loan options with the FAFSA. You won’t qualify for a subsidized loan anymore, but you may be able to take out Direct Unsubsidized Loan or a Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate or Professional Students.

Outside of the FAFSA, you can look for grants, fellowships, internships, and work-study programs. Fellowships are particularly common for graduate students, so be sure to talk to your professors about opportunities.

Last but not least, consider applying for scholarships. Some are available to both undergraduate and graduate students; others are meant specifically for PhD candidates. As a future IT professional, you might have the best luck with scholarships that are earmarked for computer- and technology-based majors.

Is There a PhD in Information Technology?

Many colleges offer a PhD program for information technology. There are also PhD programs for related disciplines such as information systems, technology management and systems engineering.

They teach many of the same skills and subjects since there’s a lot of overlap in their fields. Additionally, you can choose to specialize in something like cybersecurity or database management with your information technology degree.

What Can I Do With a PhD in Information Technology?

You can do a lot with a doctorate in information technology. It can help qualify you for high-level jobs, especially if you specialize in a niche field where your skills will be in demand.

You can pursue a career in academia or research. You can even aim for a CEO job.

How Long Does It Take to Get a PhD in Information Technology?

software developer working in his office

It usually takes around 3 – 5 years to get a PhD in information technology. Depending on your school, your degree may require anywhere from 55 – 65 credits, and you might need to meet specialized course requirements as you go.

A highly motivated student could finish quickly, but a busy student with outside responsibilities could take longer. It all depends on your school, your schedule, and your specific doctorate program.

Can You Get an Accredited PhD in Information Technology Online?

It’s entirely possible to earn a PhD online. Many colleges have an “e-campus” where they offer the same classes with the same course requirements as their traditional, classroom-based degree programs; it’s just that all lessons are delivered virtually.

Most programs don’t mention on your transcript that you took online classes, either.

Is a PhD in Information Technology Worth It?

computer programmer working in an office

Yes, a PhD in Information Technology is worth it for many students. Computer and information technology occupations are projected to grow 11% over the next 10 years, much faster than the average for all occupations. Common careers in this field include digital forensics analyst, information systems professor, data scientist, information research scientist, and IT director.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 531,000 jobs will be added to the industry in the next decade. An advanced degree can open a lot of doors in this quickly-evolving field.

Another thing to consider is your return on investment (ROI). This can be calculated by subtracting the total cost of your PhD program from the salary that you expect to earn once you graduate. How long will it take to pay off your loans? When will you start turning a profit?

What Jobs Can I Get with a Doctor of Information Technology Degree?

An online PhD in information technology can lead to many career prospects, including:

University professor
Computer or technology specialist
Information security analyst
Web developer
Software engineer
Network or database manager

You can also take your degree and apply it to IT research and development in other fields such as business, law, finance, education, and health administration. Every industry needs technology experts.

What does an Online PhD Information Technology Degree Cost?

Tuition rates can be wildly different depending on your school, location, degree type, credit load, and overall length of study. In general, however, you can expect to pay at least $300 per credit, and it usually takes around 55 – 65 credits to earn a PhD in information technology.

Just remember that these numbers are averages and not guarantees.

Getting Your PhD in Information Technology Degree Online

Information Technology students studying online

If you’re ready to take your career to the next level, an online PhD in information technology might be just what you need to stand out from the crowd.

Not only can it help you qualify for specialized, high-paying jobs, but it can also help you learn the skills that you’ll need to know to thrive in the industry. Consider contacting your local university to ask about their graduate programs for IT.

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As technology continues to transform our economy and culture, businesses need a new breed of lawyers who understand the legal and commercial aspects of new technology as well as the challenges of bringing new products and new companies to market.

Open to practicing attorneys and recent law graduates from the U.S. and around the world, Cornell Tech’s one-year Master of Laws (LLM) in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship degree will provide you with the specialized skills you need to support and lead tech companies in the increasingly complex and dynamic digital economy.

Want to learn more?

LLM at Cornell Tech

Learn in teams at the intersection of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Cornell Tech’s Master of Laws in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship is the first degree of its kind in the world. It is a year-long immersion in innovation, creativity and new business development that will have you learning side-by-side with designers, engineers and business students. Working together in teams, you’ll create new products for existing businesses in the Product Studio and develop your own new business in the Startup Studio or work inside businesses or organizations in PiTech Studio or BigCo Studio . You will dive into studying law and building the transactional skills that emerging technology companies need in practitioner-led courses designed specifically for this program. You will also have ample opportunity to network with the vibrant community of investors, business leaders and entrepreneurial faculty members that only a city like New York and a university like Cornell can provide.

Cornell Tech prepared me to work and communicate smoothly with engineers and business people, which is one of the most important skills a lawyer should adopt when dealing with tech clients.

Bensu Aydin

The cornell tech llm three-semester option for international students.

The two-semester Cornell Tech LLM will not by itself qualify most foreign-trained lawyers to sit for the New York State bar examination.* Students who require additional training to qualify to sit for the New York State bar examination may apply for the Cornell Tech LLM three-semester option.** After completing Fall and Spring terms at Cornell Tech three-semester students will spend an additional Fall term at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York. There students will have access to classes which meet the subject matter requirements set forth by the New York Board of Law Examiners.

*Requirements vary according to educational background, and bar examination requirements change often. We cannot counsel individual applicants regarding these requirements prior to their admittance into the program. We recommend students who earned their law degree outside of the US review the New York State rules at https://www.nybarexam.org/foreign/foreignlegaleducation.htm .

**The three-semester option requires an additional tuition payment. For the 2021-22 academic year 2-term tuition is $70,188 and 3-term tuition is $105,300.

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Matthew D’Amore is a Professor of Practice at Cornell Tech and in the Law School at Cornell University. He currently serves as an Associate Dean at Cornell Tech and Director of the Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship Program at Cornell Law School & Cornell Tech.

Research focus: Intellectual property, licensing, and the impact of advancing technology on the practice of law.

James Grimmelmann

Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law

James Grimmelmann is a Professor at Cornell Tech and in the Law School at Cornell University.

Research focus: How laws regulating software affect freedom, wealth, and power

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Career Outcomes

Cornell Tech offers best-in-class career management services to set you up for success after graduation. Recent LLM graduates work for firms and companies such as Allen & Overy, Buhler Duggal & Henry, ClassPass, Datalogue, and FastCase.

Diversity & Inclusion

Cornell Tech was founded to advance technology as a means to a better quality of life for all communities in New York City, across the nation, and around the world. Our best work results in ethical, inclusive, accessible technology for all users, especially the underserved and underrepresented. Vital to that mission is building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff. We seek to build things with — not just for — real people and believe in the power of participation and representation.

Real World Outcomes

In Studio, you’ll create real products and technology solutions for organizations like Uber and the Robin Hood Foundation. You’ll also develop your own startup concept, and maybe even take the concept to market.

This program enables young lawyers to hit the ground running and provide value to their employers and to their clients, literally from day one.

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Who should apply?

The Master of Laws in Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship is for practicing attorneys or recent law graduates who want to further hone their legal and leadership skills in the heart of New York City’s ever-evolving technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Whether your law degree is from the U.S. or law school outside the U.S., if you have a law degree and are seeking to enhance your technology law knowledge and practice, we welcome your application.

International students: Please note that the Cornell Tech LLM is not STEM-designated.

View application deadlines and requirements.

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UNSW Law & Justice leads research into the challenges brought by technological innovation.

We have a strong focus on its impact on law reform and policy, legal education and legal practice in Australia and around the world. Our work cuts across doctrines (from private and public to criminal law), new technologies (from artificial intelligence and automation to synthetic biology) and industries (from financial services to medical care). The Allens Hub for Technology, Law & Innovation is the first Australian university research initiative of its kind.

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LLM in Information Technology Law

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The LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning focuses on the regulatory framework that governs information technology within international, European and domestic settings.

Interested in finding out more about the LLM in Information Technology Law? Join us for our Postgraduate Online Learning Open Days taking place on the 22 and 23 May 2024.

The programme is highly topical, exploring different strategies for regulating information technologies, considering how current strategies have emerged and changed since the early days of the Internet. New developments in technology are a key focus, as these force us to constantly review the very concept of ‘information technology’, how it shapes society and what appropriate regulatory responses look like.

Information technology regulation operates across jurisdictions, and a cross-fertilisation of regulatory responses occurs at the interface between domestic, regional and international law. Our aim is to enable you to understand this cross-fertilisation, to be able to contextualise it and place yourself within it. Given the fast-paced nature of IT law, we aim to give you the skills so that you are able to understand current and historic regulatory approaches, to better engage with emerging and future issues too.

In a constantly evolving programme dynamic, you will encounter a range of topics which will change over time but could include:

regulatory approaches to information technology
cloud computing
information rights
online privacy
communications law.

By the end of your studies you should emerge with an understanding of information technology law not just in its legal but also its social, ethical, cultural and commercial contexts.

Jelena, LLM in Information technology Law by online learning

The University of Edinburgh's academic staff are not only globally recognised experts in their own fields, but equally empathic mentors.

This is an exciting time to study the law and regulation of information technology. Recent years have seen an enormous expansion in e-commerce, and the development of new and increasingly participatory services on the internet, such as social media platforms.

The pace and scale of technological development in recent years has been incredible. Robots, artificial intelligence, virtual realities and neurotechnology are no longer science fiction and, in many parts of the world, technology is completely embedded into everyday life.

The programme is relevant to anyone who has an interest in studying the law of information technology.

Students join us from all round the world bringing invaluable perspectives to the online learning community – not least their professional experience, and knowledge of technologies and business methods. We welcome applications from a variety of professionals including:

lawyers who want to specialise in IT
information professionals
computer scientists
IT professionals
professionals working in technology and telecommunications companies
researchers considering a PhD in this area.

You will benefit from the unique opportunity to engage in an active online learning community, guided by academic lawyers from Edinburgh Law School.

Learning and teaching on the programme is highly interactive, informed by academics’ current research interests. Staff regularly work on different (often multidisciplinary) research projects, publications and speak at international conferences and events. This research culture helps them to keep pace with important changes in IT law, which in turn feeds into the teaching you receive.

As you would expect, the programme will enable you to develop the essential legal skills of analysing texts and statutes, drawing conclusions from current developments, reading cases and being able to consider. Furthermore, as IT lawyers, in addition to legal concerns, we increasingly need to consider the societal, technical and ethical dimensions of computing. Thus, we also need to understand how technology works, the risks it poses to society and how technology itself could even be made differently to address these problems. Accordingly, the programme draws on a range of perspectives and areas of expertise from staff to provide you with the tools needed to understand legal and wider aspects of living in the digital society.

If you have any questions about the LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning please don't hesitate to contact us.

[email protected]

The LLM in Information Technology Law offers an extensive collection of information technology law courses for you to choose from and the option to engage with a range of different subject areas, including commercial law and medical law.

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000 word dissertation worth 60 credits. Full programme details for the 2023-24 academic year are available on the University Degree Programme Tables website.

View the LLM in Information Technology Law Degree Programme Table for 2023-24

Courses shown below are scheduled to run in the 2023-24 academic year.

You must select between 80 and 120 credits from the following courses:

Information Technology Law (20 credits)

This course introduces students to key issues in the fast-paced area of technology law. We will consider a wide variety of hard regulatory questions posed by impacts of emerging information technologies. These systems are often changing, adapting, and shifting, meaning regulation in this domain does too. This creates a policy and legal landscape that is often in a state of flux but also gives us a wide range of case studies, examples, and legal frameworks to consider in this course.

EU Data Protection Law (20 credits)

This course will examine the EU data protection regime as set out in the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data (GDPR). It will provide you with an overview of the terminology and underlying principles of data protection and address specific areas and requirements for data controllers and processors that are subject to the new EU regime.

Electronic Commerce Law (20 credits)

This course aims to provide an in-depth look at the legal issues surrounding electronic commerce and European regulation. Throughout the course we will review (a) fundamental issues surrounding eCommerce business, particularly contractual concerns around identification of jurisdiction, the formal validity of electronic transactions, security and authentication, contract formation and electronic payment systems, and online consumer protection issues; (b) digital convergence and content regulation, the impact of online advertising on privacy and governance of search engines; (c) contemporary issues such as cryptocurrencies and the impact of the Digital Services Act.

International and European Law of the Media (20 credits)

This course will examine the impact of International and European law on, firstly, the structure of media markets and, secondly, the content of media services. The course will start with a discussion of the nature of the media, the media 'value chain', and the relationship between media freedom, freedom of expression and other human rights. It will examine the various international organisations competent in the media field and the regulatory strategies that are being adopted to deal with media convergence and globalisation. In relation to structural matters, consideration will be given to consolidation of media ownership and state funding of the media, in particular public service broadcasting. In relation to content controls, the course will examine attempts to create a more equitable flow of media content and concerns over 'media imperialism', the regulatory problems posed by pornography and hate speech and the balance to be struck between freedom of the media and privacy. Students will attain a good understanding of the interplay between domestic and international law in this field, as well as the role of soft law and self or private regulation. They will be encouraged to think about the future role of law and regulation in a rapidly changing media environment.

Regulation of autonomous systems: the law of robotics (20 credits)

The course introduces students to the legal and wider regulatory issues raised by the increasing use of automated and autonomous devices in all fields of life. As we increasingly allow machines to make decisions for us, this raises significant problems for our legal concepts of liability, responsibility and legal personhood. Since robots rely on sensors to perform their tasks, they also raise issues of data protection and privacy. The course discusses amongst other applications the regulatory issues of care/companion robots in a medical setting, self-driving cars and the automated city; and military applications such as drones. The course covers both embodied artificial intelligent systems ("robots") and non-embodied devices ("autonomous agents"). Legal ramifications of these technologies are studied also with a view on their political, economic and ethical implications. To address the legal issues raised by robot mobility, special attention will be given to efforts to create an international legal regime or at least to harmonise existing national approaches. In this context, students will be particularly encouraged to contribute their experience with their home jurisdiction to the debate. In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of the specific legal issues that are created by a number of particularly important applications of robotics and autonomous agent technology, students will also acquire a generic understanding of the types of problems that are raised by autonomous technologies for the theory of regulation. They will gain an understanding of the limits of regulation by law and the ability to evaluate comparatively other modes of regulation for a given problem.

Information: Control and Power (20 credits)

This course will investigate, through a range of legal disciplines and perspectives, the growing focus placed on, and value attached to, information by society, governments, businesses and individuals; concerns as to its control and misuse; and the impact of this on all stakeholder, particularly in the light of the opportunities and challenges of evolving - and converging - technologies. The course will consider legal regimes relating to:

A wide-ranging international approach will be adopted, with contributions sought from students in respect of their own jurisdictions.

privacy, freedom of information and data protection;
the extent to which present regulatory, co-regulatory and self-regulatory systems conform to expectations in respect of information privacy and access to information;
the extent to which basic data, information and content is or should be protected by intellectual property or other information rights, particularly in the light of new means of creating, obtaining, recording, sharing and exploiting that information;
human rights law and policy, with particular reference to (online) privacy;
electronic surveillance, access to information and the conflict between freedom of expression and reputation and image rights.

You can choose to study between 0 and 40 credits from the following courses:

European Competition and Innovation (20 credits)
Fundamentals in Bioethics (20 credits)
Shaping and Regulating Modern Healthcare (10 credits)
Clinical Negligence and the Law (10 credits)
Mental Health Law (20 credits)
Confidentiality and Data Protection in Biomedicine (20 credits)

Please note that Shaping Modern Healthcare and Regulating Health and Social Care Professionals are co-requisite and must both be taken in the semester that they run.

You may study 0 and 20 credits from the following courses:

Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
Law and Ethics at the Start and End of Life (20 credits)
Corporate Compliance: Case Studies in Law & Ethics (20 credits)
Comparative & International Corporate Governance (20 credits)
International Law, Human Rights & Corporate Accountability (20 credits)
Dispute Resolution Methods (20 credits)
The Fundamentals of Law and Medical Ethics (20 credits)
International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits)
Banking and Financial Law: Case Studies (20 credits)
Public Health Ethics (20 credits)
Introduction to Intellectual Property Law (20 credits)
Ethics of Health Technologies (20 credits)

Please note that a course from this group can only be taken with the approval of your Programme Director.

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the options available in the programme.

Your dissertation title will be agreed with your supervisor during your final semester of taught study. Dissertation topics must fall within the scope of your programme and will relate to specific courses that you have taken at Edinburgh. Supervision continues throughout the research and writing of the dissertation.

Your dissertation must demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage in critical analysis. More credit will be given for originality and evidence of independent thinking, whether in terms of the material used or the manner in which it is presented.

The dissertation is written in the summer months (April to August) after the taught courses are successfully completed.

Courses are offered once in an academic year. Each semester you will choose the course(s) you wish to study in that particular semester. Courses are then allocated. Details of the courses available will be provided in advance. Courses are then allocated.

The allocation process is intended to support student choices as much as possible, while taking account of optimum class sizes for specific courses.

Class sizes

Class sizes have typically ranged from 15 to 25 students in the past. If more students request a course than can be allocated, students who need to take the course in order to fulfil core programme requirements will have priority and others may be asked to defer that course choice to a later year of study.

Terms and conditions

Please note the University reserves the right to make variations to the contents of programmes, including the range of courses offered, and the available choice of courses in any given year may change.

Find out more about the University's terms and conditions

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Staff teaching on the core courses for the LLM in Information Technology Law for 2023-24 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various legal fields including media law, regulation of new technologies and IT law.

Mr Nicolas Jondet - Programme Director 2023-24

Nicolas Jondet is a teaching fellow in Information Technology law. He holds law degrees from the University of Edinburgh (LLM) and the Paris-Saclay University (Honors) as well as a degree in legal translation from ISIT Paris (Honors). Nicolas is a legal academic with a keen interest in the legal regulation of technology and innovation, including various aspects of IP law and IT law. His main research is focussed on digital copyright, drawing upon international, European and comparative legal materials. Current research projects include the applicability of blockchain technology to copyright protected works and the interaction between data mining and copyright. Nicolas teaches across a range of IT and IP law subjects, including, at present, courses relating to data protection, privacy and surveillance.

Find out more

Burkhard is Professor of Computational Legal Theory and Director of the SCRIPT Centre for IT and IP law. His main field of interest is the interaction between law, science and computer technology, especially computer linguistics. How can law, understood as a system, communicate with systems external to it, be it the law of other countries (comparative law and its methodology) or science (evidence, proof and trial process). He is currently working mainly on issues such as privacy compliant software architecture and more generally the scope and limits of representing legal concepts directly in the internet infrastructure.

Burkhard will be on sabbatical in semester 2 of the 2022-23 academic year.

Rachael Craufurd Smith is a Reader in EC Law specialising in media, the regulation of culture and European Union law. In 2003/4 she was a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. She is a qualified solicitor and has worked both in the International and Policy and Planning Departments of the BBC, focusing on the impact of European Community Law on the public broadcasting sector. Rachael also worked as a trainee in the Internal Market DG of the European Commission and was a Fellow for a number of years at Trinity, Corpus Christi and St. John's Colleges and a University Lecturer at the University of Oxford.

Paolo Cavaliere joined the Law School from September 2014 as a lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law. Prior to joining the School, Paolo has been a researcher at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policies of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies of the University of Oxford where he has also helped to coordinate the Monroe Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. His main interests in research include the discipline of pluralism and diversity in the media, e-democracy and the relationship between new media and politics, regulation of audiovisual industries and digital media. He has written about different aspects of Media law, including “mediacracy” and the democratic deficit of the EU; media pluralism in the European sphere; digital technologies and the political debate in the public sphere.

Lachlan is a Lecturer in Technology Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is also a visiting researcher at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, where he was a Research Fellow in Information Technology Law from 2016-2018.

Lachlan's primarily works at the boundaries of computer science (human-computer interaction), information technology law (mainly privacy and information security), and computer ethics. He focusses extensively on the technical, socio-legal, sociological, and ethical implications of living with interactive computing (e.g. Ubicomp/Internet of Things, robotics, smart homes & cities, social media etc.).

Judith Rauhofer is a Lecturer in IT Law and an Associate Director of the Centre for Studies of Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT). Her research interests include the commercial and fundamental rights aspects of online privacy and electronic surveillance, data protection, information security and all areas of e-commerce and internet law and policy. Judith is particularly interested in exploring the tensions between privacy as an individual right and as a common good.

The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2024-25. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Find out what it's like to study for an LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning from our current and former students.

Lukasz, Poland

Online LLM in Information Technology Law student, Lukasz

Lukasz studied the LLM in Information Technology by online learning part-time over two years graduating in 2023.

"For starters, the LLM aligned with my prior work. I have a PhD in Computer Science, done in the field of privacy. Unquestionably, this field often intersects with social and political dimensions. As a result, I've consistently found myself engaged with technology policy in one capacity or another.

I studied some advanced topics in Data Protection Law, European Competition Law, Information Technology Law. But also, Space Law and Policy, which provided a very interesting background and context of international law. And even international humanitarian law, with which I was very familiar due to my prior work at the International Committee of the Red Cross. Some of the content during courses sometimes slightly overlapped, like issues data protection. But perhaps so is the current Zeitgeist and the needs of our times.

I highly endorse this program, although I add a word of caution. The coursework can be exceptionally time-intensive, frequently involving hundreds of pages to digest each week. The reading material varies in significance, with some necessitating in-depth study and others lending themselves to a more cursory review. Engaging with this program demands strong motivation and a capacity for independent work.

My main motivation was to gain a deeper understanding of the legal aspects of technologies (i.e. data protection), enabling me to navigate the increasingly intricate landscape with confidence. These studies have greatly enhanced my knowledge, skills, and abilities. I can now speak with even greater confidence in the fields of technology policy and law. The LLM has broadened my skillset, capabilities, and future opportunities for engagement."

Jelena studied the online LLM in Information Technology Law, graduating in 2021.

"Hello World! My name is Jelena, and I come from Belgium though I am originally Serbian. I come from an engineering background and studied computer science, majoring in telecommunications. Throughout my professional career as a network engineer, I was exposed to the fascinating but challenging world of privacy and data protection, which made me aspire to privacy engineering.

Jelena, LLM in Information Technology Law, 2021

After acquiring several industry certifications, I felt the need for more knowledge to effectively bridge the gap between the engineering and legal fields (becoming fluent in both l33t and legalese).

An LLM sounded like a good idea, however not many universities offer LLM programs to non-legal professionals let alone by online learning as I wanted to continue working full time. The University of Edinburgh came top of my list as it has postgraduate legal studies which are research driven and intentionally designed for people with diverse backgrounds. This has been one of the things I came to value the most - assessing a problem from different angles and reaching a multifaceted solution with the help of my diversely-skilled classmates from all over the world. Another thing I valued was definitely learning from renowned professors, who are not only globally recognised experts in their own fields but equally empathetic mentors.

Towards the end of my second semester, I was appointed EMEAR Privacy Officer for one of the world's leading IT companies, a great new opportunity which would not have been possible without my LLM journey.

Studying, working, parenting and partnering were all achievable during global pandemic, because I felt so passionate about topics we engaged with and because I received fantastic support from the University, my fellow students and my family. In strict confidence, I went through an identity crisis more than once during my studies, questioning my purpose and what I wanted to do next. This was, however, a good thing as I felt more alive than ever.

Technological responses to societal problems and the prevalent role technology plays in our collective future demands more scrutiny from digital rights perspective. Society needs more people with diverse educational backgrounds who understand the intricacies of this relationship, the impact of the digital divide and who are able to design human rights into the fabric of technological development challenging the power asymmetries. If this sounds like something you are passionate about, the University of Edinburgh is your new home. Welcome to the family!

Tina studied for an LLM in Information Technology by online learning at Edinburgh Law School, graduating in 2019. She also won the best dissertation by an online learning student. In this video she talks about her experience of studying for an LLM online at Edinburgh Law School.

Eni, an IT professional, studied for an LLM in Information Technology Law online at Edinburgh Law School, graduating in 2019. In this video Eni talks about her experience of studying the LLM online at Edinburgh Law School.

Meltini studied for an LLM in Information Technology Law at Edinburgh Law School, graduating in 2017. Here she talks about studying online while living in Greece and enhancing her experience for her career in information technology law.

David Foster talks about his experience of studying for an LLM in Information Technology Law by online distance learning at Edinburgh Law School, the University of Edinburgh.

The LLM in Information Technology Law by online learning has start dates in September and January of each academic year. We recommend that you apply as early as possible; this is particularly important for applicants who may need to allow sufficient time to take an English language test.

We require a minimum UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent. Your degree does not have to be in the subject of law, but it must be from a recognised higher education institution. We will also consider your other qualifications and professional experience as part of your application.

Entry to this programme is competitive. Meeting minimum requirements for consideration does not guarantee an offer of study.

International qualifications

You can check whether your degree qualification is equivalent to the minimum standard before applying.

Check your degree

Students from China

This degree is Band A.

Find out more about our postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex and demanding knowledge of English, so we ask that the communication skills of all students are at the same minimum standard.

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

IELTS Academic and IELTS Academic Online : total 7.0 (at least 7.0 in the writing component and 6.5 in each other module)
TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 25 in writing and 23 in each other module)
CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 185 in writing and 176 in each other module)
Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
PTE Academic: 70 overall with at least 70 in the writing component and 62 in each other component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the degree begins.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, that was taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The UK Government's website provides a list of majority English speaking countries.

View the UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or equivalent, that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about the University's English language requirements

Your application may not be successful if you do not currently satisfy any of these requirements; alternatively, you may be offered a place conditional on your reaching the satisfactory standard by the time you start the degree.

English language support

The University runs a series of programmes for English Language Education, including a pre-sessional English Language Programme intended to strengthen your English Language skills before you start your programme of study.

Find out more about English language support offered by the University

We aim to review applications and make selection decisions throughout the cycle and we monitor application numbers carefully to ensure we are able to accommodate all those who receive offers. It may therefore be necessary to close a programme earlier than the published deadline and if this is the case we will place a four-week warning notice on the relevant programme page.

2024-25 application deadlines

September 2024 entry

Applications for September 2024 will close on the 30 June. Applications for September 2025 will open in October 2024.

Please note that if you receive a conditional offer of a place on one of our programmes for September 2024, the deadline for meeting the conditions of your offer is 31 July 2024.

January 2025 entry

The deadline for applications for entry in January 2025 is 03 November 2024.

Please note that if you receive a conditional offer of a place on one of our programmes for January 2025, the deadline for meeting the conditions of your offer is 27 November 2024.

Applications are made online via the University Application Service, EUCLID.

Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that you have included the following documentation with your application:

Degree certificates showing award of degree.
Previous academic transcripts for all past degree programmes (please upload the full transcript showing results from all years of study). Where academic paperwork is not in English, certified translations must be provided (these must have been produced by a certified translator); Find out more about certified translations
Details of professional qualifications and any appropriate professional registrations.
A reference in support or your application. The reference should be academic and dated no earlier than one year from the start of study on the LLM programme. We may accept a non-academic reference from applicants who have been out of higher education for five years or more.
Evidence of English language proficiency, if required.
Personal statement - you will be asked to complete a personal statement (maximum 3500 characters - approximately 500 words) as part of your application.
Relevant knowledge / skills - this may include details of any skills or voluntary work that you have undertaken that you feel are pertinent to the programme (maximum 3500 characters - approximately 500 words).

Your personal statement should show that you have thought carefully about why you are interested in this programme of study; what you can bring to the programme and what impact you feel it will have on your future career. Therefore, please ensure that you address the following questions in your statement:

What are your motivations for wanting to study this programme?
What skills, qualities and experiences have prepared you to undertake this programme?
What value do you think you can add to the learning community as part of an internationally diverse group?
What impact do you hope to make in your future career, and how will this programme contribute to your aspirations?

If you are currently studying for your degree or you are not in a possession of an English test result you may still apply to the programme. Please note that it is your responsibility to submit the necessary documents.

Students at this University must not undertake any other concurrent credit bearing studies in this (or in any other) institution, unless the College has granted permission. The College must be satisfied that any additional credit-bearing studies will not restrict the student’s ability to complete their existing programme of study. Students will not be permitted to undertake concurrent degree programmes in any circumstances.

If you are studying at this or another institution just prior to the start of your postgraduate studies you must have finished these studies before the start of the programme to which you have an offer.

After your application has been submitted you will be able to track its progress through the University's applicant hub.

Application processing times will vary however the admissions team will endeavour to process your application within four to six weeks of submission. Please note that missing documentation will delay the application process.

You will be informed as soon as possible of the decision taken. Three outcomes are possible:

You may be offered a place unconditionally
You may be offered a conditional place, which means that you must fulfil certain conditions that will be specified in the offer letter. Where a conditional offer is made, it is your responsibility to inform the College Postgraduate Office when you have fulfilled the requirements set out.
Your application may be unsuccessful. If your application has not been successful, you can request feedback from us or refer to our guidance for unsuccessful applicants, which explains some of the common reasons we why we reach this decision. View the University's guidance for unsuccessful applicants

You can find full and detailed application guidance on the University's website.

Find out more about applying to the University of Edinburgh

Applicants receiving an unconditional offer of admission to the LLM in Information Technology Law will be asked to pay a deposit of £1000 to secure their place on the programme

The deposit fee will be deducted from the first tuition fee instalment you have to pay and so enables you to spread the financial cost of the LLM.

September 2024 applicants

The deposit must be paid within 28 days of the date that the unconditional offer was made or by 09 August 2024, whichever is sooner.

January 2025 applicants

The deposit must be paid within 28 days of the date that the unconditional offer was made or by 04 December 2024, whichever is sooner.

Find out more about our deposit policy

The University’s terms and conditions form part of your contract with the University, and you should read them, and our data protection policy, carefully before applying.

University of Edinburgh admissions terms and conditions

If you have any questions about applying to the LLM in Information Technology Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

Key information

Online programmes.

IT and Media Law

SCRIPT Centre website

SCRIPTed - A Journal of Law, Technology & Society

Schools & departments

Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust PhD

Awards: PhD

Study modes: Full-time

Funding opportunities

Placements/internships

Programme website: Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust

Discovery Day

Join us online on 18th April to learn more about postgraduate study at Edinburgh

View sessions and register

Research profile

The increasing reliance of systems and services on information technology in the public, private and third sector has significantly raised the impact of cyber attacks in the last two decades.

This PhD programme in Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust is a response to the growing need for highly specialized research and training in these topics. Cyber security and resiliency is a complex problem that requires designing and understanding underlying technologies but also how business processes, cost, usability, trust and the law play a role for effective technology deployment.

The aim of this PhD programme is to provide students with research training in specialised topics of security, privacy and trust, helping produce the next generation of world-leading experts of the field.

Programme structure

The PhD in Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust trains you as a researcher and allows you to develop advanced techniques and in-depth knowledge in a specialist area. You will develop an all-round knowledge of your discipline, and a broad range of transferable skills.

You will carry out independent research, resulting in an original contribution to knowledge in your chosen area, working under the guidance of your supervisors.

The prescribed period of study is 36 months if studying full-time, or between 48 and 72 months if studying part-time.

Year 1 of PhD studies is probationary. Your supervisor will identify your training needs, if any, and invite you to attend lectures relevant to your research topic. These lectures may be selected from those offered to MSc students or may be specialist courses and seminars organised by the School's various research groupings.

Towards the end of Year 1, you will be expected to submit a thesis proposal which identifies a specific research topic, reviews the relevant literature, outlines a plan of research to address the topic, and describes progress made so far.

Progress during your PhD is assessed by annual reviews, which formally determine whether you can progress with your PhD. You will be required to complete and pass a PhD annual review at the end of each year of study and thesis is expected to be submitted at the end of Year 3. Following thesis submission, you will be required to attend an oral examination (or viva) which will be conducted by an external and internal examiner.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Work placements/internships

Many postgraduate research students in the School of Informatics undertake at least one optional internship during their PhD, gaining important transferable skills whilst working with companies, public or third sector organisations.

The School of Informatics maintains a range of connections to potential employers in the cyber security and other sectors. Work placements or internships are considered a valuable aspect of research training as they expose students to an applied research culture, and can provide valuable contacts for future job searches.

Training and support

As a research student in the School of Informatics, you will have access to a highly respected academic staff community, including staff who have won prizes for their research and who are Fellows of learned societies.

The University of Edinburgh has been recognised as a UK Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research. This is based on the amount and quality of its research output, as well as its level of PhD training.

Within the School of Informatics, the Security, Privacy and Trust Group includes academic staff who lead research in a range of technical and socio-technical areas of cyber security. Staff also supervise PhD students on this programme.

Security, Privacy and Trust Group

You will carry out your research under the guidance of a primary supervisor and at least one other secondary or co-supervisor. You will be expected to attend seminars and meetings of relevant research groups and may also attend lectures that are relevant to your research topic. Periodic reviews of your progress will be conducted to assist with research planning.

A programme of transferable skills courses will be offered, which facilitates broader professional development in a wide range of topics, from writing and presentation skills to entrepreneurship and career strategies.

The award-winning Informatics Forum is an international research facility for computing and related areas. It houses more than 400 research staff and students, providing office, meeting and social spaces.

The Forum also contains several robotics labs, an instrumented multimedia room, eye-tracking and motion capture systems, and a full recording studio amongst other research facilities. Its spectacular atrium plays host to many events, from industry showcases and student hackathons to major research conferences.

Nearby teaching facilities include computer and teaching labs with more than 250 machines, 24-hour access to IT facilities for students, and comprehensive support provided by dedicated computing staff.

There are further specific facilities to support aspects of cyber security research, including an Internet of Things Lab and a Network Security Lab. The Blockchain Technology Lab is a research lab supporting investigations into distributed ledger technology.

Among our wider entrepreneurial initiatives is Informatics Ventures, set up to support globally ambitious software companies in Scotland and nurture a technology cluster to rival Boston, Pittsburgh, Kyoto and Silicon Valley.

Career opportunities

There is high demand for security and privacy experts in industry, academia, and the public sector. Commercially, there is also a large variety of opportunities in both small and large companies.

Previous PhD graduates associated with the Security and Privacy Group have gone on to employment in industry with companies including:

ION Geophysical
Disney Research
Deutsche Bank.

Students have also gone on to be employed within academia, at institutions, to name a few, including:

University of Oxford
University of Bristol
University of Oldenburg
University of Auckland
University of Birmingham
University of Surrey
University of Munich
Cambridge University
Queen’s University Belfast
Tsinghua University
Lancaster University

Entry requirements

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in computer science, mathematics, linguistics, or a related discipline. A Masters degree or equivalent, in information security, cyber security or a closely related discipline is recommended.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

Entry requirements by country
English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Academic Technology Approval Scheme

If you are not an EU , EEA or Swiss national, you may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme clearance certificate in order to study this programme.

Fees and costs

Scholarships and funding, featured funding.

Security, Privacy and Trust Group PhD topics (some with scholarships)
School of Informatics scholarships for research students
Research scholarships for international students

Please note that some University and School scholarships require separate applications via the Scholarships portal.

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

your programme
the duration of your studies
your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

UK government and other external funding

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

Search for funding

Further information

IGS Admissions Administrator
Phone: +44 (0)131 650 3091
Contact: [email protected]
School of Informatics Graduate School
Office 3.42
Informatics Forum
Central Campus
Programme: Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust
School: Informatics
College: Science & Engineering

Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.

PhD Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust - 3 Years (Full-time)

Application deadlines.

Applications for 2024/25 entry are now open and can be submitted all year round.

Please submit your completed application at least three months prior to desired entry date.

If you want to be considered for School funded PhD scholarships you must apply by one of two rounds:

(Revised 25 October 2023 to update application deadlines)

(Revised 15 February 2024 to extend the round 2 application deadline)

How to apply

You must submit two references with your application.

You must submit an application via the EUCLID application portal and provide the required information and documentation. This will include submission of:

a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
research proposal (2-5 pages long)
degree certificates and official transcripts of all completed and in-progress degrees (plus certified translations if academic documents are not issued in English)
two academic references

Only complete applications will progress forward to the academic selection stage.

Read through detailed guidance on how to apply for a PGR programme in the School of Informatics:

School of Informatics PGR Application Guidance

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

IMAGES

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW
Class Seven
Information Technology Law
9781405846660: Introduction to Information Technology Law
Information technology law
PhD in Law

VIDEO

UD Law Online LL.M.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW|AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF IT ACT,2000|TOPIC 3|MALAYALAM CLASS|
Shaping Innovation: How Legal Rules and Regulations Impact Startups & Technology
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW|SALIENT FEATURES OF IT ACT|TOPIC 4|MALAYALAM CLASS|
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW|INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT,2000|TOPIC 2|MALAYALAM CLASS|
PhD Admission Process 2024 || PhD Admission Required Documents || phD Admission Fee, NET, JRF

COMMENTS

Technology Law & Policy
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Contact Information To learn more, please contact: Mary Pat Dwyer, Program Director, Technology and Law Policy Phone: (202) 662 - 9036 Email: Mary Pat Dwyer. Please address any questions about admissions the Office of Graduate Admissions.
Technology Law and Policy
Technology Law and Policy. The software, hardware, platforms, and networks that we use every day are regulated by overlapping (and sometimes conflicting) sets of laws, policies, and norms. New technologies constantly create challenges and opportunities for policymakers, technology developers, and the general public, as they seek to understand ...
Law, Science, and Technology Program of Study
Overview With law often playing catch up to ever-changing technology, the study of how law interacts with science and technology is more critical now than ever before. The school's offerings related to science and technology are grouped into four, often-overlapping clusters: Intellectual Property Law, Health Law, Internet Law, and Technology & Civil Liberties. A student […]
Technology Law & Policy
Georgetown Law is the nation's largest law school and its expertise in technology law is unmatched. More than ever, lawyers and policymakers need a deep understanding of technology and the legal frameworks around it. Law firms are building specialized practices to meet increased legal demands around data security, privacy, artificial ...
Law and Technology
Law and Technology. Starting with a focus on intellectual property, Berkeley Law's law and technology program has expanded over the years to develop an equally deep expertise on privacy. Our activities now encompass the full range of technology law, including cybercrime and cybersecurity, biotech, entertainment law, telecommunications ...
Technology & the Law
Technology & the Law. Software, hardware, platforms, and networks are regulated by sometimes conflicting and overlapping sets of laws, policies, and norms. New technologies are constantly creating new frontiers for policymakers trying to understand and balance the costs and benefits to society.
Intellectual Property and Technology
Intellectual Property and Technology. Intellectual property (IP) and technology law are critical areas of legal practice and public policy as the internet pervades every aspect of professional, social, and personal activity. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and tools like Chat GPT raises a host of policy and legal questions that lawyers ...
Ph.D. Information Technology
About. The Information Technology doctoral program prepares students with skills to advance applied research in evidence-based, human-centered and secure IT practice. In addition, the program prepares doctoral students whose research will advance knowledge in evidence-based practices needed to educate future IT professionals at the K12 ...
Law and Information Technology
Law and Information Technology focuses on both methodological issues and regulative issues. The activities started in 1968 and are to a large extent project oriented. Apart from research, IRI is engaged in educational activities and Law and Information Technology ("Rättsinformatik") has since the early 1980s been a compulsory component in ...
Cornell Tech
The Law & Policy research group studies the interactions between technology and society, with a special focus on steering technologies along healthier paths. From drones to derivatives contracts, from social networks to startups, our world-renowned researchers focus on improving the design, deployment, and regulation of technologies to optimize ...
Information Technology Ph.D.
Justice, Law, and Information Technology Institute ... The Doctor of Philosopy (PhD) in Information Technology provides students with the necessary skills to provide applied research in evidence-based, human-centered, and secure information technology (IT) practice. The program prepares students to educate future IT professionals at the K12 ...
LL.M. in Technology / Information Technology (IT) Law
Those who graduate with an Information Technology LL.M. program have the opportunity to pursue a range of careers in the space, from working in IP law in a law firm, to startup consulting and even working as part of a technology regulatory organization. See below for a complete list of law schools offering LL.M. programs in Technology or IT Law.
The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course
The Law & Ethics of Information Technology Course. This course offers a comprehensive understanding of the rapidly evolving field of IT's legal and ethical aspects, exploring the interplay between technology, law, and ethics. Topics covered include intellectual property rights, data privacy, cybersecurity, digital rights management, social ...
Information Technology and Law
The College of Law and School of Information joint graduate pathway in law and information technology, J.D./M.S.I.T., permits the completion of both degrees concurrently. Current law students must meet with and submit all documents for admission to the College of Law joint graduate pathway coordinator before July 1 following their first year of law school.
J.D. Program in Information and Technology Law at Cornell Tech Campus
Through our innovative Program in Information and Technology Law, you can spend a semester studying at Cornell University's state-of-the-art Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. At the Cornell Tech campus, you'll explore the diverse legal issues raised by information and technology, such as privacy and cybersecurity as ...
PhD in Information Technology
Information Technology (PhD) Required Degree: Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution.: Minimum GPA: 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours Coursework: 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the ...
20 Best Online PhD in Information Technology Programs [2024 IT
Doctor of Management - Technology Management. Colorado Technical University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. 6. Dakota State University. PhD in Information Systems. Dakota State is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. 7. Indiana State University. PhD in Technology Management.
Master of Laws (LLM) in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship
Open to practicing attorneys and recent law graduates from the U.S. and around the world, Cornell Tech's one-year Master of Laws (LLM) in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship degree will provide you with the specialized skills you need to support and lead tech companies in the increasingly complex and dynamic digital economy. Apply Now.
Technology, law & innovation
UNSW Law & Justice leads research into the challenges brought by technological innovation. We have a strong focus on its impact on law reform and policy, legal education and legal practice in Australia and around the world. Our work cuts across doctrines (from private and public to criminal law), new technologies (from artificial intelligence ...
LLM in Information Technology Law
Information Technology Law (20 credits) This course introduces students to key issues in the fast-paced area of technology law. We will consider a wide variety of hard regulatory questions posed by impacts of emerging information technologies. ... "For starters, the LLM aligned with my prior work. I have a PhD in Computer Science, done in the ...
Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust PhD
The increasing reliance of systems and services on information technology in the public, private and third sector has significantly raised the impact of cyber attacks in the last two decades. ... usability, trust and the law play a role for effective technology deployment. The aim of this PhD programme is to provide students with research ...
PhD in Law, Commerce & Technology
Interdisciplinary Research. The PhD in Law, Commerce and Technology programme at YPHSL is the first of its kind in Asia-Pacific and among a handful of interdisciplinary doctoral programmes offered by law schools around the world. It is built on YPHSL's research strengths, particularly in the areas of commercial law, and law and technology.
Law
The PhD program in Law gives qualified students the opportunity to engage in sustained research in an area of interest to them, under the supervision of our diverse, energetic faculty members. The Faculty of Law includes endowed chairs in natural resources and business law. Our graduate programs in energy and environmental law are world-renowned.