Bocconi's LL.M. Training Tomorrow's Specialists in Law of Digital Environments
A modern-day Themis, the Greek goddess of justice, could well keep electronic scales in her hands. New technologies and the Internet have generated a need for new professional figures able to apply existing legal tools to digital environments. Intellectual property protection and competition rules are the hot topics of the field.
In November 2016, the European Court of Justice, for instance, ruled on e-books lending by public libraries, a matter with similarities and differences in respect to printed books lending and which affects an ever growing share of the book market, currently amounting to 18% in the UK and 5% in Italy. The Court had to decide whether the concept of lending, as defined by a 2006 EU Directive regarding traditional books, could be applied to e-books.
In December, after six months of investigation, the European Commission approved a $26bln merger between Microsoft and LinkedIn, "conditional on compliance with a series of commitments aimed at preserving competition between professional social networks in Europe", as an official note explains. The European Commission's concerns regarded technological aspects such as the pre-installation of LinkedIn in Windows operating systems or the interoperability of other professional networks with Microsoft Office's suite.
These are all reasons why Bocconi University has launched its LL.M. in Law of Internet Technology, a 12-month full-time LL.M. program aimed at lawyers and legal practitioners interested in developing a career in digital businesses, domestic and international law firms with specialized practices, government and regulatory institutions, or universities and think tanks dealing with the legal aspects of information technology and digital environments.
Bocconi's LL.M. couples face to face lessons, international seminars and conferences with a practical, problem-solving training, imparted by a faculty drawn from the best academic institutions in the world, high-tech companies, specialized law firms and national and international regulatory authorities. Among them, EU Commission Director, DG Media and Data, Giuseppe Abbamonte; former Vice-President of the European Patent Office, Manuel Desantes Real; University of Harvard's William W. Fisher and University of Amsterdam's Nico van Eijk.
At the end of the program students will have to complete a practical activity in the final three months, choosing among a curricular internship consistent with the educational objectives of the LL.M.; a clinical work, i.e. a short-term assignment by an external partner focusing on specific subjects; a final thesis in the form of a research paper.
"It's a unique learning experience", LL.M.'s Director Laurent Manderieux says, "which provides those who wish to specialize in the law of Internet technologies with an unprecedented competitive advantage in the field".