Tech Law Course

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Models and Approaches

Compares prescriptive, principles-based, and co-regulatory models. Students evaluate which model suits different technology contexts.

Lesson 2 • Sources of Technology Law

Maps the hierarchy of legal sources—statutes, regulations, case law, and soft law—as applied to technology. Students trace how rules originate and evolve.

Lesson 3 • Legal Liability Basics for Tech Professionals

Introduces civil, criminal, and regulatory liability as they apply to technology actors. Grounds students in accountability concepts used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • What Is Technology Law

Defines technology law as a field and distinguishes it from general commercial law. Establishes the scope and relevance of the course.

Lesson 1 • Trademarks and Brand Identity Online

Examines trademark rights in domain names, social media handles, and app stores. Students identify infringement and dilution risks in digital branding.

Lesson 2 • IP Ownership in Technology Agreements

Resolves ownership disputes arising from employment, contracting, and collaboration. Students allocate IP rights in common technology deal structures.

Lesson 3 • Software and Code Protection

Analyzes how copyright and patent law protect software, and where gaps exist. Students distinguish protectable expression from unprotectable ideas.

Lesson 4 • Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

Defines trade secret protection and the obligations that sustain it. Students draft protective measures and assess misappropriation scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Data Breach Response and Notification

Establishes legal obligations triggered by a personal data breach. Students build an incident response plan that satisfies notification timelines and content rules.

Lesson 2 • Privacy by Design and Default

Applies privacy engineering principles to product and system design. Students embed legal requirements into technical architecture from the outset.

Lesson 3 • Individual Rights and Organizational Duties

Maps data subject rights—access, erasure, portability—against corresponding organizational obligations. Students build processes to honor rights requests.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Border Data Transfers

Analyzes legal mechanisms for transferring personal data across jurisdictions. Students select appropriate transfer tools and assess adequacy determinations.

Lesson 1 • Incident Response Legal Obligations

Identifies legal duties activated during and after a cybersecurity incident. Students integrate legal counsel, evidence preservation, and disclosure into response plans.

Lesson 2 • Computer Crime and Unauthorized Access Law

Analyzes criminal statutes prohibiting unauthorized computer access and related offenses. Students distinguish lawful security research from prohibited conduct.

Lesson 3 • Third-Party and Supply Chain Security Law

Addresses legal exposure arising from vendor and supply chain security failures. Students draft contractual security requirements and assess due diligence obligations.

Lesson 4 • Legal Duty to Secure Systems

Establishes the sources of a legal obligation to protect information systems. Students connect negligence, statutory, and regulatory duties to security program design.

Lesson 1 • Emerging Platform Regulation

Surveys new regulatory obligations imposed on large online platforms. Students anticipate compliance requirements from systemic risk, interoperability, and transparency rules.

Lesson 2 • Content Moderation and Legal Risk

Examines how moderation decisions affect platform liability and free expression. Students balance legal risk against editorial discretion in policy design.

Lesson 3 • Online Defamation and Harmful Speech

Applies defamation law to user-generated content and platform republication. Students assess platform exposure and user remedies for reputational harm.

Lesson 4 • Digital Copyright Enforcement on Platforms

Covers notice-and-takedown procedures and secondary copyright liability for platforms. Students design compliant upload filtering and rights management processes.

Lesson 1 • Software and SaaS Agreement Essentials

Identifies the key provisions in software licenses and cloud service agreements. Students draft scope, service level, and termination clauses that manage operational risk.

Lesson 2 • Contract Formation in Digital Contexts

Applies contract formation rules—offer, acceptance, consideration—to online agreements. Students assess the enforceability of clickwrap, browsewrap, and electronic signatures.

Lesson 3 • Data Processing Agreements

Covers the mandatory contractual terms required when sharing personal data with processors. Students draft compliant data processing agreements aligned with privacy law obligations.

Lesson 4 • Dispute Resolution in Technology Contracts

Compares litigation, arbitration, and mediation for resolving technology disputes. Students select and draft dispute resolution clauses suited to the deal context.

Lesson 1 • AI Regulatory Landscape

Maps existing and proposed AI-specific regulations and their risk-tiered structures. Students classify AI systems by risk level and identify applicable legal obligations.

Lesson 2 • Liability for AI-Caused Harm

Analyzes how existing tort and product liability rules apply to AI-caused harm. Students identify gaps and anticipate how new liability regimes may fill them.

Lesson 3 • Generative AI and IP Challenges

Addresses copyright, training data, and ownership questions raised by generative AI. Students assess infringement risk in AI-generated outputs and training pipelines.

Lesson 4 • Algorithmic Fairness and Anti-Discrimination

Applies anti-discrimination law to algorithmic decision-making in employment, credit, and housing. Students audit AI outputs for disparate impact and design remediation strategies.

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Engagement and Advocacy

Develops strategies for engaging regulators proactively through comment processes and dialogue. Students draft regulatory comments and prepare for supervisory examinations.

Lesson 2 • Compliance Monitoring and Auditing

Designs ongoing monitoring and periodic audit processes to detect compliance gaps. Students select metrics, testing methods, and escalation procedures.

Lesson 3 • Building a Tech Law Compliance Program

Establishes the components of an effective compliance program for technology organizations. Students design governance structures, policies, and accountability mechanisms.

Lesson 4 • Crisis Management and Regulatory Enforcement

Prepares organizations to respond to regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Students develop crisis communication plans and negotiation strategies for settlements.