Research at the Chair of Business Law, in particular Innovation and Technology Law

The professorship's research and teaching focuses primarily on innovation law and technology law (Technikrecht), two fields that are based on interdisciplinarity between engineering, economics and law and are in constant development. Innovation law deals with topics of innovation control through law and in law. Technology and engineering law focuses on the control of technologies and engineering by means of legal instruments.

 

News from our research

01.07.2021

NEUER­SCHEIN­UNG

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07.07.2021

„En­hanced Concept Maps“ zur Visu­al­is­ier­ung jur­istischer In­halte und Struk­turen

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Pub­lic­a­tions

Tech­no­logy law

By J. Ensthaler, D. Gesmann-Nuissl, S. Müller
Published 2012, Springer Verlag

Man­age­ment of in­tel­lec­tu­al prop­erty

Edited by J. Ensthaler, P. Wege
Published 2013, Springer-Verlag

Journ­al on in­nov­a­tion and tech­no­logy law

Published quarterly since 2013

Re­search pro­jects

New research project "Enhanced Concept Maps" for the visualisation of legal content and structures

The legal system in Germany represents a system of normative guidelines and judgements. Laws represent abstract-generic regulations and the characteristics of one regulation are often related to others. This requires teachers to structure and prepare the subject matter in a didactically meaningful way. Nevertheless, the transfer of legal knowledge is traditionally text-based. As a text-oriented discipline characterised by an ambiguous technical language, law is not only image-shy, visualisations of legal content are also regularly considered to be unscientific means of expression. It is precisely this rejection of the use of multimedia content that presents the heterogeneous student body with major challenges and leads to obstacles to learning.

By developing a three-dimensional map as a digital tool, the text-heavy learning material should not only be reduced didactically, but the heterogeneous student body can also be encouraged by opening up a multidimensional perspective and making learning more sustainable. The digital map is built on a variety of possible networked paths. In addition to purely hierarchical and consecutive connected structures, it also offers further logical links such as causal relationships in the sense of cause and effect or prerequisite and legal consequence. Learners can use the programmed three-dimensional learning environment to arrive at a common, legally correct understanding of a legal issue.

Legal norms, structures and concepts are extracted from the existing and varied study material of the assessment module "W1601 Fundamentals of Private Commercial Law" and then implemented in the digital tool to be developed. In the project or special module "W2690 Methods of Private Business Law", which will be offered in the coming winter semester 2021/2022, students in the profiling phase of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics can participate in the tool development as a "control group" and test the respective prototypes in various development phases for functionality and user-friendliness. In addition, the project offers potential for related final theses in various subject areas.

Since learning success is at the centre of the evaluation as an important challenge of quality management efforts, the digital learning tool is to be substantiated in the subsequent phase in terms of evaluation economics and research methodology (reliability and validity) by testing and use in the module "W1601 Fundamentals of Private Commercial Law". After completion in 2022, students will have another digital learning tool from Paderborn University at their disposal.

The project was awarded the 2020 prize for innovation and quality in teaching. The funding period began in May 2021 and will initially run until May 2022. The project team consists of Prof. Dr. jur. Stefan Müller, Christopher Günther, Christopher Pietsch, Philipp Delker, Achal Ramanath Poonja and Sumit Shekhar.

AiF-funded project of the industrial joint funding programme between

  • the University of Potsdam (Chair of Information Systems and Electronic Governance),
  • RWTH Aachen (Chair of Technology and Innovation Management) and
  • Paderborn University (Chair of Business Law)

(2015-2017)

Final report