CS401: Computer Science Policy Research Seminar

Professors Ed Felten and Barbara Simons

Computer Science 401. Computer Science Policy Research Seminar -- Explores the relationship between technical issues in computer science and public policy, focusing on the area of intellectual property protection in light of recent legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Students will engage in projects in the following areas: the concept of forbidden technologies, the impact of the DMCA legislation on research, analysis of copy-protection mechanisms and their vulnerabilities, the implications of incorporating copyright-protection mechanisms into hardware and/or software, and the international implications of such laws. Students will work closely with the cyberlaw clinics of the Stanford Law School and U.C. Berkeley to ensure that they understand the legal dimensions of the policy, which they need to consider together with the technical aspects of the issues.

Enrollment limited; instructor permission required.
3 units, Ed Felten and Barbara Simons

The course will meet MW 3:15-4:30 in McCullough room 122.