Method

The course will make extensive use of a ‘peda-blog’ initiated by Professors Alain Strowel (Université catholique de Louvain and University Saint-Louis - Brussels) and Paul Belleflamme (AMSE): www.IPdigIT.eu. The name of the blog perfectly summarizes its objective, namely to cover issues related to Intellectual Property (IP), Information Technology (IT) and the digital economy (DIGIT), with academic rigor and depth (‘Dig it!’).

We will use the blog to implement a flipped classroom strategy. That is, each lecture (starting from week 2) will be introduced by one or two short articles posted on the blog (see the complete list in the week-by-week description of the course).

• Your primary task will be to read these articles before the class, so as to both get more from the class and contribute more to it.

• Your secondary task will be to post your own comments in reaction to these articles. Please submit your comments directly on the blog (and allow some time for me to read and approve them). You are asked to do this exercise 4 times during the term (you can choose when). A maximum of 10 points is given per comment posted and a maximum of 40 points is allocated to this activity. Only one comment is allowed per week. If you decide to post more than 4 comments, I will take the best 4 marks to compute the total marks of the activity.

• Grading scheme. There is no right or wrong answer. Here is what I am looking for: strong arguments, examples, links with what has been (or will be) discussed in class, additional references, reaction to previous comments, etc. In a nutshell, anything that shows that you thought about the topic and developed your own opinion.

  • 10 points: top-notch comment (worth being published as a blog post);

  • 9 points: excellent comment;

  • 8 points: very good comment;

  • 7 points: good comment (but lacking some of the elements above);

  • 6 points: correct comment (but not addressing properly the issue);

  • 5 points: comment that ‘just does the job’;

  • 1 to 4 points: comment not addressing the question and/or of poor quality;

  • 0 point: inappropriate comment or comment submitted after the deadline.

The remaining 60 points will go to the final exam, a 2-hour, close-book, written exam covering the entirety of the course (including all the required readings).