Insegnamento a.a. 2025-2026

• Foundations of EU IP Law: subject matter and features of copyright, patents, databases, and trade secrets.
• Digital Challenges for IP: platform liability, AI-generated creations, and IP issues in software and algorithmic environments.
• Foundations of EU Data Law: concepts of data, information, and technology; data as input and output of digital processes.
• Regulation of Data in the Digital Economy: data ownership, access, sharing, protection, and governance in technological markets.
• AI, Data and Information Law: legal challenges arising from AI systems; data and IP implications of automated decision-making and machine learning models.
• IP and Data Law in Business Models: identification of typical legal issues faced by technology companies and emerging digital businesses.

• Identify the main IP rights in the EU (copyright, patents, databases, trade secrets) and their functions in technological and data-driven contexts.
• Describe how digital technologies, software, algorithms, and AI pose new challenges for IP and data law.
• Explain the key concepts of EU data and information law, including data as input/output and basic regulatory principles.
• Summarize the main legal issues that arise in technology-sector business models concerning data, information, and innovation.

• Apply core IP and data law concepts to simple practical scenarios involving digital technologies and AI.
• Spot recurring legal issues in the operations or business models of technology companies.
• Analyze how rules on data, information, and IP affect the development or use of specific technologies.
• Develop basic legal arguments to address issues related to data governance, software, algorithms, and AI.

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

Face-to-face lectures

Face-to-face lectures provide the core structure of the course and are used to introduce and explain the legal principles, regulatory frameworks, and case law that govern intellectual property, online communication, data protection, and AI regulation. Through systematic presentation and guided discussion, these lectures help students develop a solid conceptual understanding of the subject matter and offer opportunities to examine how legal rules shape business practices and technological developments.

Guest speaker talks

The course also includes one or more guest lectures delivered by attorneys, policy experts, and professionals working in the areas of IP law, data protection, platform regulation, and emerging technologies. These talks illustrate how legal issues arise in practice, present real-world challenges faced by businesses and regulators, and give students the opportunity to engage directly with practitioners. This contributes to strengthening students’ analytical and problem-solving abilities by connecting theoretical content with concrete applications.

Group assignments

As part of the course, students work in small groups to research and analyze the IP and data law issues faced by a selected technology company. This activity requires students to connect the concepts introduced in class to real-world business models and technological practices. Each group prepares a short slide presentation summarizing its findings and delivers it in class, followed by a brief Q&A session. This method strengthens students’ ability to identify legal problems, conduct basic legal research, and communicate their analysis clearly and effectively.

In order to assess the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, the evaluation for attending students is based on two components:

Written exam (70% of the final grade).

The exam includes open-ended and multiple-choice questions aimed at verifying students’ ability to identify and explain the legal principles of European IP and data law, to recognize the main challenges posed by digital technologies, and to apply basic legal reasoning to issues involving data, algorithms, software, and AI.

Group presentation (30% of the final grade).

Working in small groups, students research the IP and data law issues faced by a selected technology company and deliver an in-class presentation. This component allows instructors to assess the ability to spot legal problems in real-world contexts, to organize legal analysis coherently, and to communicate findings clearly and effectively.

Attendance of at least 75% of the lectures entitles students to be considered attending and to participate in the group assignment. Attending students may nevertheless choose to take the full written exam.

For non-attending students, assessment is based on a written exam that counts for 100% of the final grade.

The exam includes open-ended and multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate the student’s ability to describe the key principles of European IP and data law, to summarize the main legal challenges raised by digital technologies, and to apply the relevant concepts to simple problem-based scenarios.

For this course, there is no required textbook. All essential readings— including judicial decisions, academic articles, policy documents, and selected case law—will be uploaded on the Bboard platform prior to the relevant classes. Additional materials may be provided during the semester to reflect new developments in the relevant fields.

Students who wish to explore specific topics in greater depth may consult optional readings suggested throughout the course; these are not required for the exam. Any updates or changes to teaching materials will be communicated promptly to ensure accurate information for students and for library and Course Reserve services.