society gets Microsoft grant
The Law School's Information Society Project (ISP) has received a grant of more than $500,000 from Microsoft Corp., a leading software and information services company.
The ISP will use the funds over a period of three years for a variety of educational and research programs focusing on the deeper social and technological challenges of the information society. The project promotes innovative thinking and scholarship about law and technology by bringing together a network of professors, young scholars and law students.
"The new funding will enable us to provide fellowships for post-graduates and aspiring academics as well as summer grants for law students. In this way we can help some of the brightest and most ambitious students in the world carry out cutting-edge research on the information society," says Jack Balkin, director of the ISP and the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment.
The ISP will expand its working group of young researchers with seven additional postgraduate fellowships over the next several years. Fellows will be in residence at the Law School to teach, conduct their own research and contribute to ISP workshops.
Each year, the ISP runs conferences, symposia and a speaker series, which bring together policy makers, scholars and students from around the world. "The ISP's conferences are famous for their scholarly depth and intellectual seriousness; with Microsoft's help we can continue this proud tradition," adds Balkin.
The broad range of issues that the ISP studies includes such much-debated topics as intellectual property, digital democracy, freedom of speech, privacy, telecommunications, biotechnology, cybercrime and cybersecurity -- topics increasingly of interest to law students.
Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh notes: "The ISP has been a leading center of innovative thought on the information society since its inception in 1997. This grant will help the ISP's scholars and students continue to take a comprehensive approach to the study of global technology and advance our understanding of these fundamental issues."
"Microsoft is at the center of the computing landscape, making it an ideal partner for the ISP," says Eddan Katz, executive director of the ISP. Noting that new technologies stretch existing laws while the law poses challenges for the developers of technology, he adds: "The brightest young researchers can help identify and anticipate the social and legal challenges that the technology industry will confront five years down the line. At the same time, in working with computer engineers during the design process, we can gain a first glimpse into the network infrastructure of the future."
Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft, notes: "The Information Society Project provides excellent opportunities for the study of law and technology issues. As an integral part of Yale Law School, ISP is able to leverage some of the best legal minds in the country. We are pleased to support a program that will aid in the advancement of innovative technology solutions."
The ISP will begin implementing the new programs in the 2005-2006 academic year with summer grants, a new fellowship and a speaker series. The ISP is also planning the first conference devoted to developing issues and problems in search engine law, to be held during the 2005-2006 academic year.
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