Digital Business Law

Introduction

This course introduces students to a broad set of legal rules governing the daily operations of a digital business.

The course will provide students with a basic understanding of legal methodology and legal sources, introducing students to the study of law. The students will learn to identify and apply relevant legal sources to resolve practical issues their business may be facing.

One of the areas of law that saw a change due to the widespread adoption of technology is contract law. The course will explore the core requirements for entering into digital contracts, as well as different ways in which advancements in technology can be used to facilitate contract negotiation, adoption, interpretation, and enforcement of contracts, both in business-to-business and consumer contexts.

The course will also introduce students to core European instruments regulating sales of digital goods and services, preparing them to work with digital sales. This will also be supplanted by an overview of the rules on the role of digital platforms allowing consumers to purchase the goods directly, or allowing other businesses to enter into contracts with consumers.

Students will also learn the basics of intellectual property law to gain an overview of how a business can use the assets of others, as well as protect its own. Protection of personal data - and privacy in general - remains a core topic when designing digital products and services. Students will therefore be introduced to core regulations pertaining to this field, with a large focus on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The course will have a heavy emphasis on challenges posed by new technologies, such as machine learning and Al. The course will have a heavy emphasis on case studies and other forms of practical work.

Course content

The course will contain the following topics:

• Introduction to legal methodology. Legal writing.
• Basics of contract law. Sale of digital goods and services.
• Business-to-business and consumer contracts.
• Introduction to intellectual property law.
• Introduction to privacy and the GDPR.
• Digital platforms and intermediary liability. Net neutrality and cross-border content portability.
• Law and new technologies, in particular AI.