Required Courses:

Computers and the Law (2) IT 803
This course is designed to give students an awareness of the legal issues surrounding the development and use of computer and other technologies. Subjects include an introduction to computer systems and other applicable technologies; legal aspects of the sale or lease of technology and technology based services; and special problems in contract, tort, intellectual property, and information law arising from the use of computer and other technology.

Copyright Law and Practice (3) IP 406
The course explores the statutes and case law defining the scope of U.S. copyright law, including the 1909 Copyright Act, the 1976 Copyright Act, and the 1988 Berne Convention Implementation Act as it affects both domestic and foreign copyrights in the United States. (Equivalent course may be substituted with Center Director’s permission).

Cyberspace Law (3) IT 808
This seminar provides an overview of Internet law. Students consider such issues as the nature of online services, governance and business structures in the borderless electronic environment of Cyberspace. Subjects will vary as the field develops, but will include such areas as tort liability, freedom of expression, crime and security, privacy, intellectual property rights and protection, regulation, jurisdiction, and standards of ethics and propriety.

Information Law and Policy (3) IT 801
This seminar considers the historical foundation and current status of information law and policies. Students examine a variety of issues concerning informational privacy: the gathering, use, manipulation, dissemination, and protection of information about individuals and organizations held by third parties. Topics include the right of access to information, the free flow and use of information, the creation and value of an individual’s “digital persona,” and the roles of government and the private sector in protecting informational privacy. Specific materials may focus on consumer data privacy, confidentiality of financial and medical information, access to criminal history records, protection of personal information held by the government, workplace privacy issues, and much more.

Introduction to Legal Analysis (1) IT 805
This course introduces non-legally trained students to the workings of the legal system, legal methods (including research techniques), and the process of legal education. (Open only to M.S. students. Must be taken concurrently with Substantive Law Overview.)

Substantive Law Overview (2) IT 800
This course introduces non-legally trained students to the basic substantive areas of law. Policy considerations as well as legal issue spotting will be emphasized. (Open only to M.S. students. Must be taken concurrently with Introduction to Legal Analysis.)

Elective Courses:

Computer Crime, Information Warfare, and Economic Espionage (2) IT 848
The computer crime elements of this course include issues such as computer intrusions, online fraud, “electronic stalking,” computer viruses, and theft of service. The information warfare aspects encompass infrastructure security, “hacktivism,” and other such issues. Economic espionage includes legal, technical, and social aspects of protecting sensitive and proprietary information.

Contemporary Problems in Computer Law (3) IT 820
Topics discussed in this seminar may include technological developments, recurring and significant issues in electronic contracting, integrated system transactions, liability and litigation, computer generated evidence/expert testimony, privacy/security, government contracting issues, bankruptcy and software escrows, taxation, international law and transactions, antitrust, domestic and international distribution and software and database acquisitions.

Current Topics in Information Technology Law (2) IT 881
The Current Topics seminar focuses on a specific area of information technology or privacy law. Students will examine current controversies and technological developments as they relate to the traditional legal framework. Offerings have included Internet Fraud, Workplace Privacy, the Microsoft Antitrust Litigation, Regulatory Compliance regarding Health and Financial Information, and Protecting Children Online.

Electronic Commerce Law (2) IT 830
This seminar analyzes the law of electronic transactions, including issues presented by digital cash, micropayments, anonymous and pseudonymous transactions, privacy and accountability, digital signatures and message authentication, fraud, and consumer protection.

Electronic Document Certification (2) IT 835
The course focuses on the law governing electronic documents and digital signatures. The course examines issues of jurisdiction, privacy concerns, tort liability, statutory interpretation, administrative agency oversight, ethical considerations, criminal responsibility, and other topics in the United States and internationally. Students will engage in exercises in document and legislative drafting, ethics considerations, and statutory applications.

Free Speech in Cyberspace (2) IT 841
This seminar considers the legal and policy questions arising from the borderless and relatively open communication channels of the Internet. Course content includes First Amendment interpretations in the digital, electronic environment; media practices in accessing personal or proprietary information in cyberspace, using the Internet to supplant or supplement traditional media dissemination and the tension between free speech and intellectual property rights. Students will explore questions of rights and liabilities in connection with obscenity, pornography, commercial speech, harassment, hate speech, defamation and invasions of privacy.

Governance and Regulation in Cyberspace (2) IT 865
This seminar explores various approaches to rulemaking and dispute resolution in the borderless environment of cyberspace. Attempts by international organizations, individual governments, industry groups, and private enterprises to create legal and regulatory structures will be considered.

High Technology Litigation (2) IT 815
This seminar considers both the use of information technology in litigation and litigation about high technology. Subject matter includes the electronic filing of pleadings and documents; admissibility of digital electronic records or other evidence; discovery and electronic databases; use of computer-generated models and simulations; recent cases involving scientific or technical evidence; multimedia techniques for securing and presenting the depositions or testimony of distant witnesses; and techniques for presenting and explaining information about complex information and communications technology.

Independent Research in Information Technology Law (1-2) IT 897
An independent research project must be approved by the director. It requires scholarly research resulting in a quality written product which makes a significant contribution to the field of information technology law. Students may register for either 1 or 2 credit hours of Independent Research within a semester or summer term. Students may receive up to a total of 3 credit hours for Independent Research toward the LL.M. or M.S. degree, and a combined total of 4 credit hours for the Journal of Computer and Information Law (IT 818), and Independent Research (IT 897).

International Privacy Protection: Transborder Data Flow (2) IT 855
This seminar explores the global privacy implications of the flow of information across jurisdictional lines; conflicts of laws and culture regarding content or expression in communications; and comparative analysis of U.S., European Community and other laws that regulate privacy and information exchange across national boundaries.  Special attention is given to the European Union Directive on Data Protection.

International Telecommunications Law (2) IT 850
This seminar surveys telecommunications laws and regulations worldwide, with particular emphasis on the United States (both federal and state), Europe, and Australia. Also to be addressed are major international agreements and organizations affecting telecommunications.

Jurisdiction and Judgments in Cyberspace (2) IT 860
This seminar examines issues of jurisdiction and procedure as they are affected by the international and borderless aspects of cyberspace, including personal and subject matter jurisdiction, conflict of laws, the effect of foreign judgments, the role of  international organizations and transnational governments, and alternative methods of dispute resolution.

Lawyering Skills Specialty Drafting:  Information Technology (2) Law 162
This is an advanced drafting course designed to provide students with an understanding of the unique issues presented by technology clients and give hands-on experience in the research techniques and drafting styles common to an information technology or privacy practice. The course will walk students through the process of creating the documents necessary to represent a client starting a new business including retainer agreements, licensing agreements, privacy policies, and other documents such as those common in dispute resolution used by practicing attorneys who represent start-up and high-tech clients.

Multimedia Licensing and Transactions (2) IT 825
This seminar covers a broad range of legal issues related to the ownership, use, and transfer of multimedia works such as computer software, interactive television, online services, and hypermedia. Copyright and licensing issues will be emphasized, but other intellectual property interests as well as regulatory and tort liability issues will also be explored.

Privacy Rights (2) IT 845
This seminar considers the historical foundation and current status of privacy rights in the U.S. in the areas of tort and constitutional law. In the former, the subjects of intrusion into seclusion and publication of private fact are given special emphasis; the relationship between commercial appropriation of name and the new tort, “right of publicity,” is also examined, as is the relation between the false light privacy tort and defamation. In the constitutional arena, attention is given to personal autonomy in such matters as procreation, abortion, and choice regarding medical treatment and “death with dignity”; and personal and sexual associations and lifestyle.

The Professional Responsibilities of a Technological Law Practice (2) IT 812
This course examines the application of legal ethics to the use of technology in the practice of law. It explores emerging developments in the use of technologies (including the Internet) to facilitate, advance and deliver legal services. Students examine the lawyer’s obligations, particularly to the rules of professional responsibility, in a technological or cyber-based practice.
Prerequisite: Professional Responsibility

Protection of Intellectual Property in a Global/Digital Environment (3) Law 178
The Internet has had a profound impact on the recognition and protection of intellectual property rights in a digital environment.  This course is designed to explore the unique interplay between intellectual property rights and the Internet and other digitized formats, in both the United States and internationally.  Among the issues to be explored are the impact of digitization on copyright ownership and use, database protection, cyber squatting and other domain registration and use issues, framing, cyber piracy, Internet business patents, cyber-enforcement, and international regulation of intellectual property rights on the Internet.

Technology in the Practice of Law (2) IT 810
Participants in this workshop-style seminar will learn about a wide range of applications of technology to the practice of law, including legal research and writing, litigation applications, electronic communication, electronic publishing, and billing and law practice management.

U.S. Telecommunications Law (2) IT 851
This seminar addresses the scope and effect of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Illinois regulation of the telecommunications industry, and the relationship between state and federal telecommunication regulations and the industry.

Note: With the approval of the Center Director, up to six credit hours of advanced elective course work offered by other programs may be counted toward the M.S. in Information Technology and Privacy Law.