Law, Technology and Design Thinking Research Group

The researchers in this team tackle issues arising from how the law reacts and provokes technological developments, in order to provide with novel solutions that are more workable for shaping the legal system in a way that fosters rather than stifle technological progress. The theme closely relates to issues of sustainability and minorities, as part of the research studies how the law can support technological developments that are more respectful of the environment, as well as more inclusive of focused groups and minorities. Especially technologies such as 3D printing, robotics and AI, big data, blockchain technology, the internet of things, digital entertainment (video games, virtual reality) and unmanned vehicles including especially aircraft (drones) provide with relevant technological contexts to the legal analysis.

Relevant general themes that have been already discussed and where applications are already pending include:

• Regulations in the data economy (both personal and non-personal data)
• Legal implications of Additive manufacturing
• Blockchain technology and the law
• Legal implications and AI
• Regulation of industrial internet and the internet to things
• Regulating the circular economy
• Regulating the sharing economy
• Regulating platforms from a citizen-perspective

We tackle these general themes in research projects that are relevant especially in the following areas of law: intellectual property law, property law, contract law, competition law and unfair competition, trade secrecy, as well as data protection and privacy andother fields of law that are necessarily interlinked with technology. For instance, the themes addressed naturally interlink with other legal fields, especially welfare law and environmental law.

The research questions are addressed by using multiple types of different methodologies. This is needed especially due to the multidisciplinary nature of the research, which is a cross-pollination between law, technology and science. As such, we make use of both traditional legal research types of methods (e.g. legal dogmatic and comparative law), as well as empirical methods (such as the case study research method, case content analysis and statistical analysis). Particular emphasis is posed on the use of design thinking and legal design as methods for creating a legal framework that prevents possible problems, rather than reacts to them after they have already arose.

As part of the Faculty of Law, the Research Group is a member of the Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems (RAAS) and the Finnish UAV Ecosystem (FUAVE).

The Research Group is currently directed by Professor Rosa Ballardini. More information about associated researchers and their research interests is available on the Group Members page.