In this seminar we will examine ways in which various areas of law apply to software, focusing on ways in which particular unusual properties of software often make it difficult to apply existing legal rules to software. After providing a brief introduction to software technology for the layperson, the seminar will cover topics including patent and copyright protection for software, First Amendment protection for computer source code, software licensing, open source software, and novel legal questions raised by software agents and software that can create written works and inventions. For each area of law covered, we will examine both arguments for and against the applicability of the law to software and arguments about the nature and scope of the law’s applicability to software. The seminar will also provide a summary of the current state of the law in each area through the use of applicable statutes, cases, and commentary. The seminar will conclude with an inquiry into whether there is, or should be, a separate field of “software law.”
PREREQUISITES: Students must have either completed or be concurrently enrolled in Intellectual Property, Copyright, or Patent, or obtain advance permission from the instructor. No computer science or engineering experience is required.
LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
