Required in stage
Optional in stage
First term
Second term
Both terms
Not organised
This year
Next year
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Prerequisites
Language of instruction
Duration
Identical coursesIP/IT Law & Emerging Technologies (B-KUL-HNI43A)
Cannot be taken as part of an examination contract
N. Aims
Emerging technologies, such as - currently - Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology, Neurotechnology, Biotechnology and Robotics, are primarily data-driven. They call for extralegally and intralegally multidisciplinary approaches. For this reason, they are eminent candidates to be considered and investigated from a perspective in which ICT and IP-law are integrated.
After attending and successfully concluding the course, the students will be able to
- identify the main developments in or with regard to the technology at issue that are relevant to law
- identify the transformations in practices and society that may be caused by the technology, as well as several types of ethical and legal issues arising in the wake of these transformations
- understand the relationship between legal and ethical requirements and user acceptance
- identify and apply the legal and other regulatory provisions regarding the safety and performance of applications of the technology
- understand the main IP issues, liability issues, possible privacy and data protection problems that may arise in the wake of the introduction of the applications
Previous knowledge
None
Is included in these courses of study
Activities
3 ects. IP/IT Law & Emerging Technologies (B-KUL-HNI43a)
Content
The course aims to broaden the scientific-technological basis of the students and to teach them the necessary multidisciplinary knowledge and skills so that they are able to develop thinking patterns and competences that provide a critical but fruitful reflection on technological developments and their social impact (including the impact of those developments on the law itself). More specifically, the course aims at bringing the students into contact with recent technological innovations and thereby also with the transformations that these technological developments bring about in social practices and interactions that demand answers from the law.
Each year a topical emerging technology will be selected as the core topic of the course. The course will start with a general introduction into to the aspects of the chosen emerging technology and its (possible) impacts on human practices and societal structures that call for legal consideration. Subsequently, attention will be given to several issues of the technology or its impacts in such a way that various fields of ICT-law, IP-law and ethics, social sciences and/or economics are covered. This may be done in an order in which the various relevant legal and other scientific fields are leading, or in a way in which the various parts or dimensions of the technology that raise legal and other scientific questions are leading. Depending on the specific technology and the significance or urgency of the legal questions it raises directly or indirectly, emphasis will be given to all or some of the following fields: copyright law, patent law, privacy and data protection law, liability law, business law, environmental law, health law, and ethics. The structure of the course will therefore vary each year according to the technology and specific angles that will be selected. Throughout the whole course, the main focus will be on European and international law and regulation. US or other national legislations may be invoked for practical relevance in particular cases and for the purpose of comparisons in general.
Course material
- Lecture presentations and notes
- Additional readings, depending on the specific technology to be discussed and the related legal issues to be discussed.
Language of instruction: more information
This course is part of a trilingual LL M programme. The course is meant to be taught by an international guest professor.
Evaluation
Evaluation: IP/IT Law & Emerging Technologies (B-KUL-H90023)
Explanation
This is a closed book exam with insight questions.
Information about retaking exams
This is a closed book exam with insight questions.