Seminars in Economic Law

Technology and Privacy Law Seminar

Blockseminar, Dr. April R. Stockfleet (spring semesters)

Much of the focus of privacy law in the current era aims to protect citizens’ data from use or abuse by corporations or to protect citizens from illegal intrusion by malevolent hackers or state actors. However, developments in technology resulting in the individualization of communication devices have begun to create a new, heightened intra-household / intrafamilial expectation of privacy. This block seminar will examine the extent to which courts in various jurisdictions have found members of the same household or family guilty of cybercrime or allowed other tort liability for invasion of privacy between members of the same household/family.  Please see KSL for more details and application instructions.

Economic Law: "The International Protection of Geographical Indications" HS 2023 / KSL-483988

Block Seminar, Visiting Professor Dr. Dev S. Gangjee (University of Oxford, Faculty of Law)

Geographical Indications (GIs) signal the provenance of reputed products such as Champagne, Darjeeling and Prosciutto di Parma. They also constitute valuable collective brands. This course a) outlines the relevant international treaties mandating how they should be protected, b) describes and compares the three competing models of protection envisaged by these treaties (trademark law; unfair competition law; and sui generis protection), and c) drawing on EU law, explains the distinctive features of the sui generis model and explores contemporary challenges, including the effects of climate change on terroir and the accommodation of handicrafts and textiles in a regime designed around agricultural products such as grapes or olives.

The topic of this seminar will be of interest to participating students for the following reasons: (a) This topic sits at the intersection of both international trade and cultural heritage priorities. (b) Its origins can be traced to early experiments with French wine regulation in the 19th century, which showcases a historical approach to help understand current controversies. (c) Through the lenses of law and geography as well as legal history, it offers a valuable vantage point on international IP harmonization and resistance to it.

Seminar announcement: Link

Comparative Election Law Seminar (fall semesters, but not in fall 2023)

Blockseminar, Dr. April R. Stockfleet

The Comparative Election Law Seminar will explore landmark cases in U.S. Election Law and, by taking a common law case analysis approach to those cases, will allow students to author a seminar paper comparing election law in Switzerland (or another country of their choice) with U.S. law, to analyze how varying legal and political mechanisms may further or hinder the democratic process.  Students taking Anglo-American Law might find this a fitting companion seminar, as they will learn the basics of the common law method in Anglo-American Law and then could delve deeper into case analysis from a written point of view in the Comparative Election Law Seminar.  The Anglo-American Law course, however, is not a prerequisite.  Seminar paper topics will be assigned on the first day of the seminar and can involve election law at the federal, state/cantonal, or local levels, as well as judicial appointments/elections.  The cases analyzed can be recently decided contemporary cases and/or landmark historical cases involving election law.  Please see KSL for more details and application instructions.