Related Courses
Advanced Privacy Law: LAW JD 822
3 credits
This advanced course in Privacy Law offers a more detailed examination of privacy law and privacy theory. It builds on the conceptual, analytical, comparative, and doctrinal skills developed in Information Privacy Law to enable more sustained and expert engagement with the American and European regimes of privacy and data protection law. The course offers a deeper and more specialized examination of both scholarly and practical issues in privacy law, from academic theories of privacy and data protection, to deeper examinations of the EU data protection regime and the GDPR, national security law, American privacy reform at the state and federal levels, and other issues of privacy law of the moment. It is intended for students who took Information Privacy Law and who wish to pursue careers in privacy or technology law as well as for those interested in academic theories or privacy--or both, since the emerging global practice of privacy law is one in which lawyers and academics are frequently--and necessarily--in conversation with each other. Assessment will be on the basis of class participation and a final exam/assignment. PREREQUISITE: Information Privacy.
Antitrust Law: LAW JD 838
4 credits
The antitrust laws reflect a conviction that competition in the marketplace will yield the best outcomes for consumers and the optimal allocation of resources in our economy. Beginning with the Sherman Act of 1890, the antitrust statutes condemn a variety of acts -- from mergers to agreements among competitors to monopolists' exclusionary business practices -- that restrain trade or contribute to monopoly power. The statutes, however, are written in general terms, leaving it to the courts to draw the line between lawful competition and unlawful restraints of trade or monopolization. Early on, the Supreme Court established that the law reaches only "unreasonable" restraints, which only begs the question of how to draw the line between "reasonable" competition and "unreasonable" interference with competitive markets. Over the course of the twentieth century, the courts struggled to fix this line; as the century closed, they had settled on an economically-oriented normative framework that largely deferred to firm decisions and doubted the value of government intervention in markets. In recent years, however, a cacophony of voices -- ranging from activists to scholars to politicians of all stripes -- has begun to call that framework into question and to call for renewed enforcement of antitrust laws. This course will explore the principal statutes and common law that have shaped antitrust law over the past century-and-a-quarter since Congress passed the Sherman Act. We will also examine the standards and procedures that the antitrust agencies use to evaluate mergers and to challenge conduct as anticompetitive. As we critically evaluate the case law, we will also reflect on current calls for reform. While we will engage rigorously with economics, all of the economic principles necessary to understand the case law and debates will be explained in the course; formal training in economics is not a requirement.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 838 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 24th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 4 | Keith N. Hylton | LAW | 101 |
Copyright Law: LAW JD 929
3 credits
This course will give you an introduction to copyright, including a foundation in the theories underlying copyright law, an understanding of the current contours of copyright protection, the basic elements of proving infringement, the fair use defense to and remedies for infringement, and familiarity with related forms of liability such as secondary and vicarious liability. Each class meeting will consist of a combination of lecture and class discussion. Our discussions will sometimes focus on dissecting a landmark case and other times on working through the dynamics of a transaction or a policy question based on your reading. We'll also work through hypotheticals based on real-world examples and explore scenarios that will require you to think from a variety of different perspectives. Grading will be based on class participation (15%) and a 3-hour, open book, final exam.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 929 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 24th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 11:00 am | 12:25 pm | 3 | Jessica Silbey | LAW | 414 |
Creative & Innovative Economies (S): LAW JD 770
3 credits
This IP seminar studies the complicated relationship of access and ownership in the development and sustainability of IP-rich communities in the internet age. Students read intensely for the first half of the semester about particular creative and innovative communities and their IP practices, e.g., video game developers, graffiti artists, biomedical engineers, podcasters, photographers, chefs, jewelry designers, app developers (the list is endless!). In this first part of the course, students write short response papers and discuss the material. They will also begin formulating a plan for the second half of the semester, in which they will choose their own a creative or innovative community to study in depth. The second half of the semester supports the student in that research project, identifying the community, gaining access to evidence about that community, analyzing the evidence, and developing legal analysis of intellectual property issues for that community. We workshop the individual projects as a group, read proposals together, and continue with our reading on intellectual property issues that relate to the chosen projects. The final project is a combination of (1) facts/evidence about the community, (2) a written analysis of the facts, (3) legal proposals to aid the achievement of its goals as a creative or innovative community, and (4) a short presentation to the class of the findings/analysis. COREQUISITE/PREREQUISITE: Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademark, or Patent Law. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **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.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 770 A1 , Jan 22nd to Apr 22nd 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Jessica Silbey | LAW | 417 |
Information Privacy Law: LAW JD 956
3 credits
The collection, use, storage, and sharing of personal data has become increasingly important throughout society, from commerce to government and from health care to finance. For good reason, we call this the Information Age. Recall the countless high- profile privacy and data security controversies you have heard about in the last year: location tracking; inaccurate credit reports causing lost jobs; data breaches, hacking and identity theft; and government surveillance. Law has responded with a dizzying array of new rules -- and a rapidly growing area of professional specialization for attorneys. This course serves as an introduction to the emerging law of data privacy. By the end, you will be well grounded in many challenges facing any enterprise, public or private, that collects, processes, uses, and stores personal information. In addition to knowledge of constitutional, statutory, and common law rules as well as federal and state enforcement activity, we will learn about the policy questions that arise in this dynamic area, the legally relevant questions to ask when assessing information practices, and some of the many nonlegal models of information governance. You will gain a basic understanding of data privacy regulation in other countries, particularly the European Union. All students will benefit from more sophisticated knowledge about an issue that appears in the news every single day. But there are significant professional payoffs too. Major law firms have organized entire practice areas devoted to privacy and data protection law. In the last seven years the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), a key trade association in this space, more than tripled in size to 12,000 members. These trends mean that law school graduates will have increasing job opportunities in data privacy and security law. Meanwhile, in many other practice areas -- such as securities, labor and employment, health, advertising, and the list goes on -- familiarity with privacy and security law has become a major asset. Plus, the issues are fascinating and fun. If nothing else, you can have great conversations at parties.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 956 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 6th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 11:00 am | 12:25 pm | 3 | Woodrow Hartzog | LAW | 209 |
Information Risk Management (S): LAW JD 934
2 credits
Businesses and organizations handle information every day to conduct business, process transactions, and deliver goods and services. They do so in the context of legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations relating to their possession and use of this information. In the age of "Big Data" and "Advanced Persistent Threats," these entities can no longer focus solely on developing and implementing procedures to govern information processing. Instead, they must implement governance that allows for the optimization of risk while facilitating core management decision making in order to create real value. This is the new world of "knowledge governance." Legal counsel must ensure compliance with the legal and core requirements for security, privacy and data breach prevention, in a way that aligns with the strategic objectives of their firm. Designing a robust compliance program is a critical part of this task, but the big-data environment requires skills that go beyond devising a formal compliance program. In particular, lawyers operating in this environment must consider the value of data and information, understand the nature of their organization's collection, use, and disclosure of that data, and appreciate the relationship between risk optimization and their organization's strategic objectives. This course will explore the lawyer's role in devising and implementing a policy and culture of knowledge governance within a firm. It will focus on information, especially personal information. It will introduce students to the core principles of information risk management -- the privacy attributes of collection, use, and disclosure married with the security concepts of confidentiality, integrity, and availability -- while providing a framework for governance around information risk management. This course will also serve in part as preparation for the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, 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.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 934 A1 , Jan 22nd to Apr 22nd 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 2 | Kenneth P. Mortensen | LAW | 420 |
Introduction to Federal Income Taxation: LAW JD 889
4 credits
The income tax is a pervasive feature of life in the United States and lawyers encounter tax issues in virtually every field of practice. This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of the federal income tax, and its impact on a wide range of matters, including employment, tort claims, divorce, retirement, and especially business activities and investments of all types. Topics include: the concept of income, determination of gross income, allowance of deductions and the determination of taxable income, identification of the taxpayer, taxable periods and timing, the determination of gain or loss (including realization and recognition) from dealings in property, the concept of income tax basis, and the process of change in the tax law. GRADING NOTICE: Professor Walker's section will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 889 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 7th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue,Thu | 10:45 am | 12:00 pm | 4 | Alan L. Feld | LAW | 101 |
Fri | 10:30 am | 11:45 am | 4 | Alan L. Feld |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tue,Thu | 9:00 am | 10:25 am | 4 | Theodore S. Sims | LAW | 414 |
Fri | 9:00 am | 10:20 am | 4 | Theodore S. Sims |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue,Thu,Fri | 9:00 am | 10:20 am | 4 | David I. Walker | LAW | 103 |
Labor Law: LAW JD 851
3 credits
Survey of modern labor management and union relations law in the private sector. Organization of workers and the representation process; collective bargaining; unfair practices, employer and union; negotiation and enforcement of collective agreement, including arbitration; regulation of strikes and lockouts. Administrative law and federalism principles will be treated. Employment discrimination and other individual employee protection laws are not treated in this course.
Law and Algorithms: LAW JD 673
3 credits
This cross-cutting and interdisciplinary course, taught alongside a graduate-level course with BU's new faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, investigates the role that algorithms and automated decision-making systems play in law and society. The course connects legal and technical concepts of transparency, fairness, bias, privacy, and trust, though a series of case studies that present recent applications of technology to legal and regulatory situations and explore the challenges in regulating algorithms. Legal concepts explored will include evidence and expert witnesses, anti-discrimination law concepts of disparate impact and disparate treatment, sectoral information privacy regimes, and public access and transparency laws. Technical concepts explored will include artificial intelligence and machine learning, secure multi-party computation, differential privacy, and zero-knowledge proofs. Grades will be based on a series of assignments that correspond with each case study, to be completed collaboratively in mixed teams of law and computing/data science students. No prior technology experience is required. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 673 A1 , Jan 18th to Apr 18th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Andrew SellarsVaria | LAW | 203 |
Taxation of Intellectual Property: LAW TX 955
2 credits
Intellectual property- from sophisticated aerospace technology to computer software and web applications to music and video rights- is one of the most important, challenging, and sophisticated areas of modern commerce. However, because the IP revolution has occurred in only the last 25 years, many of the traditional principles of income taxation are not easily applied to IP assets. This course will explore the tax aspects of creating intellectual property, buying intellectual property, exploiting IP through leases and licenses, and strategies for selling valuable IP rights with the best tax results. The course will also explore important international tax issues, including the so called "migration" of IP offshore, cost-sharing arrangements, and other mechanisms that seek to "locate" IP and the associated tax liabilities in tax-favorable jurisdictions. The course will teach the tax differences between copyrighting and patenting a software program, the right and wrong ways to license and sell a trademark, and the mechanisms for turning a "license" into a "sale" and thereby converting ordinary income into capitol gains.
FALL 2023: LAW TX 955 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 2 | Joseph B. DarbySimona Altshuler | LAW | 101 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | TBD | TBD | 2 | Joseph B. DarbySimona Altshuler |
Trademark and Unfair Competition: LAW JD 780
3 credits
This course will examine the principles of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, protectability, and infringement in the context of words, symbols, slogans, product design and other forms of trade dress. We will explore the policy reasons for protecting marks and the limiting principles that protect competition, speech, and other interests. The course also will include a brief introduction to false advertising and the state law right of publicity. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 780 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 6th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 9:00 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 101 |