Examination arrangement

Course content

The course content is the following:

- Basic concepts in Law economics of relevance for digital business models, including state aid rules and digital neutrality.

- Key concepts in digital innovation, the role of IPRs and standards

- Internet legal and business architectures - two-sided platforms, gate-keepers etc.

- Analyses of digital legislations (rationale, intervention logics, ex ante impact assessment), standards and specific lawsuits.

- Analysis of business models within RegTech, SupTech and CIvicTech

- Digital Ethics from a regulatory point of view

- Sustainability, digital Corporate Social Responsibility and business models

Learning outcome

The main goal of the course is to learn how legal frameworks, regulations, governance, standards, and the societal context in which they are developed impact digital business. The course has a focus on both the historical development, present issues, and future evolution of Internet law and business. The course is based on Norwegian, EU, and US legislations, regulatory frameworks and occassionanly lawsuits.

This course supports the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDG): 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), and 13 (Climate action). The course has dedicated lectures on the topics of digital law and business in the context of sustainability. Hence, sustainability is an integral part of the course and discusses in particular sustainability aspects related to digital law and business.

Detailed learning goals are described below.

Knowledge

After completing this course, the student shall have a:

• basic understanding of the legal frameworks underpinning business operations in telecommunications and the Internet.
• good understanding of national and international regulatory logic in regulations pertinent to digital economy and society
• deep understanding of the rational of regulatory intervention in the digital economy
• good understanding of how standards and IPR impact the digital economy
• deep understanding of how key legislations and lawsuits impact the evolution of the digital economy
• basic understanding of the evolution of RegTech business models and as a new digital sector and business modell
• basic understanding of key ethical and societal aspects of digital business.
• basic understanding of how sustainability and corporate social responsibility impacts digital businesses.

Skills

After completing this course, the student shall be able to:

• analyze how digital services may be regulated.
• explain business operations in the digital economy from legal context.
• analyze the implications of digital business from a societal and ethical point of view.

General competence

After completing this course, the student shall be able to:

• perform a peer review of student assignments.
• being able to write academic paper within the topic of regulations and digital models
• discuss and present advanced academic material and own work in a professional manner.

Learning methods and activities

The course features lectures, exercises and discussions every week. Physical presence at one of the campuses Gjøvik or Trondheim is required to attend the teaching activities. The students must also pass three mandatory deliveries to enter the exam.

Compulsory assignments

• Mid-term-draft

Further on evaluation

The course features a term-paper delivery at the end of the semester to be graded (A-F). To submit the term-paper the student must successfully submit and present in plenum an early draft of the term-paper. The deadline for this interim deliverable will be announced early in the semester. No other mandatory assignment is scheduled for this course, but the students must also diligently work with the case studies to be discussed and analysed every week.

No re-sit for the term-paper.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

TTM4165 Digital Economics, or equivalent

Required previous knowledge

None

Course materials

The course builds exclusively on a number of academic papers within the fields of digital law and economics, as well as, on legal and regulatory texts and occasionally also on specific court cases. The syllabus will be updated from year to year.

Credit reductions