DATA MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL ISSUES

The educational goal of the course is to provide students with a specific understanding of the importance of data in modern legal systems and, most of all, in European ones. After a short introduction to the main notions of law and in particular private law, the course will focus on the main legal problems posed by data processing, especially when it is carried out by automated means. Therefore the first part of the course will be aimed at analysing the current European regulation on data protection (the GDPR), while the second part will be dedicated to non-personal data, with specific regard to intellectual property rights to this kind of data (copyright, database rights).

Knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course students will:
1. understand the basic concepts of private law and its most important distinctions;
2. realise the importance of data protection in a data-driven economy and know its European regulation, with specific reference to the principles of processing, its lawfulness and the rights of the data subject;
3. understand the principles that underlie intellectual property law, in particular from a European perspective, and know the regulation of copyright and database rights.
Applied knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course students will be able to:
4. understand to which branch of law a specific conflict of interests refers; use private law terminology and its methodology;
5. realise when data protection regulation should be applied and how it makes possible to manage personal data, reducing the threat to human dignity and allowing the pursuit of opposing interests;
6. point out when a case gives rise to an intellectual property problem, which interests should be effectively balanced and how European legal systems deal with it and solve it.

No prerequisites are required.

The course will deal with legal problems posed by data processing. In particular, it will be articulated as follows:
1. law and legal systems; positive and natural law; EU sources of law;
2. private and public law; legal positions and legal remedies;
3. subjects, ownership, contracts; information and data and their role in private law;
4. data protection law: basic notions and evolution;
5. the GDPR and its scope;
6. the principles of data processing and its lawfulness;
7. rights of the data subject; control over processing operations;
8. intellectual property law: basic notions and evolution;
9. copyright;
10. data and information; in particular, database rights.
Relevant cases will be discussed in class.

Attending students: slides and notes of the classes; selected articles, essays and case law. Slides of the classes and case law will be uploaded each week in advance. Articles and essays will be uploaded at the beginning of the course to the online platform moodle.unive.it. The materials will remain available on line during the entire duration of the course and the subsequent exam periods.
Non-attending students:
- on law and private law, J. Hage and B. Akkermans (eds), Introduction to Law, Springer, 2014, 1-49, or alternatively P. Sirena, Introduction to Private Law, 2nd edition, il Mulino, 2020, 18-21; 41-42; 71-72; 103; 133-134; 157-167; 184-196; 209-223; 298-301; 303-305; 307-316; 321-322;
- on data protection regulation, It Media-Ask Bocconi, Data Driven Economy (uploaded on moodle); Handbook on European data protection law 2018 edition, 17-35; P. Voigt and A. von dem Bussche, The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A Practical Guide, Springer, 2017, 9-29; 31-34, 38-41, 44-47, 62-63, 65-70; 87-116; 141-188; 204-212;
- on relevant issues of intellectual property law, R. Dreyfuss and J. Pila (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Intellectual Property Law, OUP, 2018, 487-516; 594-617.
Since the subject matter is broad and complex, the study of slides and notes of the classes can be a useful guide: therefore this is strongly recommended to students who are not attending as well.

Mock exams will be uploaded during the course, in order to allow students to assess their level of preparation.
The exam will be written and will include both multiple choice and open-ended questions. Extra points will be awarded to attending students who partecipate actively in classes and to those who will participate in the assignments indicated during the course.

The lectures will be taught in class. The students will be invited to discuss relevant cases.
Teaching language is English.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development