About Us
The Institute for Information Law & Policy
The Institute
for Information Law and Policy is New York Law School's home for the study
of law, technology and civil liberties.
Participants in the
Institute aim not only to understand the interplay of law and technology
but to influence its development. The Institute develops and applies
theories of information and communication to analyze law and policy. It
also seeks to design new technologies and systems that will best serve
democratic values in the digital age.
The Institute is,
above all, a "do tank," where lawyers innovate, harnessing the
new tools of information and communications to the goals of social
justice. This mission is premised on the notion that both software code
and legal code shape human relations. Like law, technology, too,
determines how we communicate and share information, which, in turn,
defines our culture. Therefore the research and pedagogy of the Institute
train students in the text-based tools of the law and the graphical tools
of media and technology.
The Institute is a center for
civic innovation as well as policy analysis and legal theory development.
Our curriculum includes several "design" courses that teach new
lawyers to create video, audio and software innovations in addition to
wielding the tools of legal reasoning and rhetoric to solve problems. The
Institute’s constant contact with “hands on” projects
assures that the theoretical work of the faculty remains relevant to real
world challenges.
Students affiliated with the Institute
(Harlan Scholars and Institute Student Fellows) pursue a specialized and
rigorous course of study, which thoroughly grounds them in intellectual
property, information and technology law. Working closely with Institute
faculty, Harlan Scholars also pursue advanced research and design projects
aimed at bringing about real-world change through legal scholarship and/or
media and software innovation.
Students run the Institute's
interdisciplinary conferences and events, where new ideas are generated
that translate into real-world innovation. The Institute takes full
advantage of its New York location to convene people across disciplines
and institutions in pursuit of its goals and to expose students to the
best of the legal, technology and design communities.
The
Institute consciously aims to create a 'hot spot' for innovation - taking
an approach unlike that of any other law school. The Institute prepares
students for new opportunities in industry, media, technology, government,
civic and policy organizations and the legal profession.
Affiliations
The Center for Patent Innovations
The Center for Patent Innovations is associated with both the Institute for Information Law & Policy and the Do Tank. The Center designs and develops projects harnessing Web-based collaborative tools for the sole purpose of improving patent systems, both in the United States and around the world.
