B8529 - Digital Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Academic Year 2025/2026

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Ravenna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Library and Archive Science (cod. 6740)

    Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Library and Archive Science (cod. 9077)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to stimulate reflection on the impacts that the digital revolution and the advent of the internet have had on the legal world and to provide a smattering of general principles on private information law and intellectual property. The lessons will be completed by concrete examples taken from contractual practices, commented reading of documents and presentation of case studies applied to the world of production and management of creative content. At the end of the course, students become familiar with the various regulatory sources, learning to orient themselves in the search for the rules applicable to various cases, and are able to draw inspiration at an operational level from the case law that governs this sector. Students are also able to recognize the most common types of contracts and licenses and to apply them to their business, as well as to use the main communication and content sharing platforms in compliance with current regulations.

Course contents

The course aims to provide both theoretical and practical tools necessary to initiate, manage, and assess digitization projects of literary and cultural heritage from a legal perspective.

The course consists of ten three-hour sessions delivered over a period of five weeks.

The first four sessions, held in person, will focus on the acquisition of theoretical foundations in copyright law, with particular emphasis on aspects relevant to the implementation of digitization projects.

The remaining six sessions will alternate between online and in-person formats. Specifically, the online sessions will adopt a seminar format and will delve into specific topics that complement those addressed in the initial part of the course. Each online seminar will be followed by an in-person workshop, aimed at applying the legal concepts discussed through guided activities and group work.

Syllabus

  • Lecture 1: Theoretical foundations of intellectual property.
  • Lecture 2: Copyright in literary and artistic works: subject matter, rightsholders, and requirements for protection.
  • Lecture 3: Copyright in literary and artistic works: scope of protection and exceptions to exclusive rights for purposes of education, research, and culture.
  • Lecture 4: Legal protection of photographs and databases.
  • Lecture 5 [ONLINE]: New challenges: NFTs and generative artificial intelligence.
  • Lecture 6: Workshop.
  • Lecture 7 [ONLINE]: Beyond intellectual property: the reproduction of documents under the Italian Cultural Heritage Code, Open Data regulation, and the Italian Civil Code.
  • Lecture 8: Workshop.
  • Lecture 9 [ONLINE]: Contractual regulation in digitization projects of Italian documentary and cultural heritage: a case study.
  • Lecture 10: Workshop.

Readings/Bibliography

For both attending and non-attending students (GIPA and LMCU), the study of the following text is mandatory:

- G. SPEDICATO, Principi di diritto d'autore, 2nd edition, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2025 (forthcoming), with the exception of Chapter VI.

This textbook may be supplemented with additional relevant materials, which will be indicated by the teacher during the lectures and subsequently uploaded to "Virtuale," the University of Bologna’s e-learning platform.

Teaching methods

Designed for students who are likely to have no prior legal background, the course adopts an introductory approach.

The teacher will favor a thematic exposition focused on general principles, frequently illustrated through practical examples, rather than a detailed analysis of specific legal provisions.

The teaching methodology combines traditional lectures—some of which will take the form of online seminars—with practical workshops aimed at applying the legal concepts covered, through guided activities and group work.

Assessment methods

Attending students will be evaluated on the basis of: (a) their active participation in the classroom, particularly during workshop lessons and (b) the result of a written test, according to the following parameters.

(a) Active participation in the classroom: 0 to 8 points (0 to 2 points for no or poor participation; 3 to 4 points for limited or sufficient participation; 5 to 7 points for fair, good or very good participation; 8 points for excellent participation).

(b) Written test (maximum time available 90 minutes) consisting of:

  • 10 closed-ended questions (multiple choice), with three possible answers, of which only one is correct;
  • 2 open-ended questions.

The final grade is the sum of the following scores:

  • 1 point for each correct answer to the 10 closed-ended questions [N.B. There are no penalties for those who do not answer one or more closed-ended questions correctly or at all];
  • 1 to 6 points for each correct answer to the 2 open-ended questions [N.B. More specifically, 1-2 points will be awarded in case of a sufficient or little more than sufficient answer, which denotes a limited critical ability and a certain difficulty in the use of technical-legal language; 3-4 points in case of a fair or good answer, which denotes a fair or good critical ability, and a fair or good use of technical-legal language; 5-6L points in case of a very good or excellent answer, which denotes a remarkable critical ability and a full mastery of technical-legal language].

For non-attending students, the exam will be exclusively oral, with four open questions. The evaluation of the test will be carried out taking into consideration the knowledge of the subject, the ability to analyze the jurisprudential and doctrinal orientations, the ability to make connections between the different parts of the program, the ability to develop critical arguments, the articulation and accuracy of the exposition. The assignment of the final grade will be based on the following criteria:

  • sufficient or little more than sufficient preparation on the topics covered, limited critical ability, difficulty in the use of technical-legal language: grade 18-21;
  • fair or fairly good preparation on the topics covered, fair critical ability, good use of technical and legal language: grade 22-25;
  • good or more than good preparation on the topics dealt with, good critical ability, mastery of technical-legal language: grade 26-29;
  • substantially exhaustive preparation on the topics covered, excellent critical ability, full mastery of technical and legal language: grade 30-30L.

For the purposes of the exam, students attending no less than 75% of the total hours of class will be considered to be attending.

To register for the exams it is necessary to use the AlmaEsami system. Late registrations with respect to the deadlines indicated on AlmaEsami and/or off-list registrations are not admitted.

Teaching tools

Students who, for reasons dependent on disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA), need compensatory tools can communicate their needs to the teacher in order to be directed to the referents and agree on the adoption of the most appropriate measures.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Spedicato