This course will explore the interaction between law and modern technology. It will introduce students to the potentially problematic relationship between legal rules and technological change, and then begin to explore real substantive problems at the interface between them. This will require some understanding of particular legal doctrines and particular technologies, which the course itself will provide. It is the aim of the course to teach, encourage and nurture creative legal (and technological) thinking when contemplating questions such as the possible regulation and/or promotion (for example, through patents) of technology and technological change. This course also provides students with knowledge of the legal frameworks and theoretical approaches regarding regulation of technologies in a global and transnational context. The course will draw on Australian, US, and European perspectives (among others) in order to ensure that student’s understand the topics covered on a broader, global canvas.
The precise topics covered will vary in order to match both the knowledge of lecturers and the currency of topics. Examples of what may be covered include:
· Theories of law and technology and the regulation of technology
· Understanding the law’s role in channelling, promoting or hindering technological change
· Regulating disruptive technologies (for example - Uber, Airbnb and 3D printing)
· Law and changing contexts (for example - offline to online in the context of censorship, speech rights, defamation and reputation management, copyright, privacy)
· Patenting and licensing Issues
· Human rights, digital rights and controversial technologies (for example, surveillance technologies)
· Big Data, algorithms and traditional expectations for public and private decision-making
· New forms of evidence (for example, digital evidence or algorithmic outputs)
· New crimes and criminal techniques (for example, Dark Net and botnets)
Preference will be given to students who have not undertaken an overseas course within the UNSW JD.
