Welcome to the website of the inter-university Research Training Group on Information Society Law
Successful science thrives on networking and exchange. This is particularly true in the area of PhD studies. The supervisors with research interests in intellectual property law, media law, data law and technology law are creating an inter-faculty research training group for the education of their doctoral students. Two goals are to be achieved with a structured programme: firstly, the quality of PhD studies is to be further improved. Secondly, better academic networking and a more intensive professional and personal exchange between the participants - supervisors and junior researchers - are to be achieved at the same time.

Idea of the Graduate School
Successful science thrives on networking and exchange. This is particularly true in the area of PhD studies. The supervisors with research interests in intellectual property law, media law, data law and technology law are creating an inter-faculty research training group for the education of their doctoral students. Two goals are to be achieved with a structured programme: firstly, the quality of PhD studies is to be further improved. Secondly, better academic networking and a more intensive professional and personal exchange between the participants - supervisors and junior researchers - are to be achieved at the same time. A decisive element for the success of this project is the personnel continuity of those involved. For this reason, only doctoral students from a total of 11 supervisors can participate in the Graduate School. The decision on the selection is made by the respective supervisor.
Events
The programme of the Graduate School is laid out for two years for each participant. It requires each doctoral student to actively participate in a total of 4 events. This participation is a decisive prerequisite for the success of the project. Two modules are offered each year: the joint PhD seminar and a teaching unit (consisting of several teaching modules) at one of the participating universities. Each participant in the Graduate School must attend two PhD seminars (and give a presentation on their own work at one) and take part in two teaching units. Those who complete the entire programme receive a certificate acknowledging it.
PhD Seminar
The participants of the PhD Seminar are the supervisors with all PhD students. On 2-3 days, the PhD candidates present their research projects for discussion. If possible, the event will take place at the location and in the week of the annual GRUR conference, otherwise at another attractive conference venue in Germany (or in neighbouring countries). The PhD candidates present their work or the respective status achieved in an oral presentation (supported by slides, outline, handout, as chosen) of max. 30 minutes. Subsequently, the methods, theses and research approach are discussed among the PhD students, and later also with the professors/habilitation students (discussion duration approx. 45-60 minutes). Each doctoral student participating in the programme must give at least one presentation and participate at least once as a non-presenter. The presentation should also be discussed with the supervisor after the seminar.
Teaching programme at the participating universities
The participating professors take turns in offering a block course (lecture/colloquium/workshop) on questions of scientific work etc. at their home universities. Each block contains 4-5 different teaching units, which are conducted by the professors participating in the Graduate School. Guest lecturers may be engaged in addition. The aim is for the PhD students to receive a total of at least 15 hours of science-specific training. The following teaching units are part of the teaching programme:
- Theory of science - plurality of jurisprudential research approaches
- European methodology
- Comparative legal work
- Empirical work
- Law and (applied) natural sciences
- Techniques and formalities of jurisprudential work
- Good scientific practice and scientific misconduct
- Scientific writing
- The finishing touches - revising and correcting the manuscript, preparing for printing and finding a publisher
- Review seminar
Funding and support
From November 2020, the IRDT will take over the organisation and costs of the graduate school for 2 years. In the medium term, an attempt will be made to cover the costs through third-party funding. The inter-faculty disciplinary graduate school is a novelty. From the structure created, a research proposal can be submitted with a high chance of success.
Events
Involved professors:
Prof. Dr. Maximilian Becker, Universität Siegen
Prof. Dr. Katharina de la Durantaye, LL.M., Freie Universität Berlin
Prof. Dr. Michael Grünberger, LL.M. (NYU), Universität Bayreuth
Prof. Dr. Christian Heinze, LL.M. (Cambridge) Universität Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Franz Hofmann, LL.M., Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Prof. Dr. Ruth Janal, LL.M., Universität Bayreuth
Prof. Dr. Nadine Klass, LL.M., Universität Mannheim
Prof. Dr. Anne Lauber-Rönsberg, LL.M., TU Dresden
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Raue, Universität Trier
Prof. Dr. Louisa Specht, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Prof. Dr. Herbert Zech, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Involved PhD students
Albrecht, Julian
Becker, Philipp
Ebel, Dominik
Heesen, Hendrik
Hotz, Thorsten
Jüngels, Leonie
Klünker, Irma
Krome, Stefanie
Lalé, Celine
Lehr, Franz
Müller, Jan-Laurin
Schechinger, Nicolas
Sierek, Pascal Turan
Sprenger, Tim
Stegemann, Lea
Alumni
Allar, Anne
Bathelt, Alexander: The certification mark in the system of undistorted competition
Baumann, Paul: Copyright framework of research data management
Benedyk, Karolina
Bienemann, Linda: Need for reform of the Art Copyright Act in the digital age
Dilbaz, Serpil: Journalism on the internet - A presentation of the rights and obligations of private Individuals working as journalists on the internet and investigation of equal treatment of these with professional journalists
Dürr, Paul: Social Bots - Constitutional context and regulatory options
Effler, Benjamin: Cyber insurance for private individuals
Fleischmann, Christian
Gaff, Lava: Personality law implications in AR and VR
Gilch, Johannes
Hirche, Tom: Public domain of official works
Kasch, Martina: Information claims against information society service providers
Khorrami Jahromi, Helena: Possibilities to influence the enforcement burden in private law
Krahn, Philipp: The data protection legal framework of research data management
Kurz, Franziska: Agreed legal consequences
Lorbach, Lea Maria: The Stolpe Doctrine and its scope in practice - especially with regard to covert statements and image reporting
Lück, Benjamin: Law in the register - Register in the law
Magnus, Hanno: Digital rights management for property
Mesenbrink, Marius: Conflict of laws on data protection
Müller, Ferdinand
Nebenführ, Daniel
Nicolai, Michael: Public communication and responsibility
Pokrant, Patrick: Know-how protection for SMEs in industry 4.0
Prado, Ojea Gabriel: Impact of digitalisation on patent use
Rosenbohm, Tim: The inventive activity of artificial intelligence
Rothe, Jule
Schilling, Gunnar: The Law on technical service interference
Schneider, Ruben: The internal relationship of joint controllers under Article 26 of the GDPR
Seufert, Anna-Magdalena: The limits of the right to deletion under Data Protection Law
Skupin, Florian: Regulation of non-lawyer service providers as law enforcement actors
Sommer, Martin: Liability for autonomous systems
Stegemann, Lea: Immaterial damage in data protection violations
Thöne, Nicolas
Wendorf, Joris
Wildgans, Julia: Requirements for a Scientific Copyright Law
Wunner, Katahrina: Contractual access rules in the data economy
