MVV59K Software Law

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Bc. Michal Koščík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. Matěj Myška, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. JUDr. Radim Polčák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Dominika Collett (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Veronika Příbaň Žolnerčíková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. et Mgr. Ing. Jan Tomíšek, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
JUDr. MgA. Jakub Míšek, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Matěj Myška, Ph.D.
Institute of Law and Technology – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Tereza Buchalová
Supplier department: Institute of Law and Technology – Faculty of Law
Timetable
each odd Wednesday 14:00–15:40 316
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
MVV59K/01: Mon 12. 10. to Fri 15. 1. each even Wednesday 14:00–15:40 316, M. Myška
Prerequisites
Understanding of intellectual property law and contract law concepts.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aims of the course are:
to introduce software as the object of legal regulation;
to explain the basics of software legal protection;
to present and explain the most important contractual issues of software law;
to present and explain legal aspects of software development and business models.
Learning outcomes
Upon successfully completing this course, the students should be able to:
Identify and summarize the important aspects of the legal protection regimes applicable to software;
Compare and summarize the differences between copyright and patent protection for software;
Describe the basic features of common standard software contracts;
Identify, describe and analyze the recent European case-law regarding software copyrights;
Analyze complex cases relating to legal protection of software incl. second-hand sales of software, protection of look-and-feel and GUI of software, standard software licensing and Free/Open source software licensing
Syllabus
  • Software Law - Introduction, Forms of Legal Protection, Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights
  • Software Development and Business Models
  • Copyright Protection: a Software-related introduction
  • Copyright Protection for Software, Protection of Non-Literal Elements in Software
  • Other Forms of Protection: Software Patents (Utility and Design) in Practice; Know-How, Trade Secret, Goodwill and Trademark Protection, Non-Disclosure, Confidentiality and Non-Competition Agreements
  • Data and Database Protection
  • Software Contracts I: Intro, SAAS, EULA
  • Software Contracts II: Contract Drafting
  • Software Contracts III: F/OSS
  • Software Contracts IV: Service Level Agreements
  • Personal Data Protection: a Software-related Introduction
  • Personal Data Protection in Software Applications
Literature
    required literature
  • BALLARDINI, Rosa Maria, 2012. Intellectual Property Protection for Computer Programs: Developments, Challenges, and Pressures for Change [online]. Helsinki: Svenska handelshögskolan. Available from: https://helda.helsinki.fi/dhanken/handle/10138/35504
    recommended literature
  • SWINSON, John, 1991. Copyright or Patent or Both: An Algorithmic Approach to Computer Software Protection. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology. 1992 1991. Vol. 5, no. Fall, p. 145–214.
  • JOHN SHAEFFER, 2017. Software as Text. Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal [online]. 20 February 2017. Vol. 33, no. 3, p. 324–414. Available from: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/chtlj/vol33/iss3/1.
    not specified
  • Further reading will be provided in the interactive syllabus.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars, e-learning, class discussions, contract revision, court submission preparation, position paper preparation
Assessment methods
Final written test - multiple choice test. Assessment of the tasks assigned during the semester: tests in the interactive syllabus; written submission, contract revision; position paper. These task shall be prepared before the respective seminar. Participation in seminars is compulsory (one absence allowed).
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
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