Donation to Establish Information Law and Policy Lab

The Amsterdam Law School has received a donation for the establishment of an Information Law and Policy Lab. At the Lab, selected master students will learn to apply their knowledge of information law for the public interest. The Lab will be affiliated to IViR, and the activities will build on IViR research.

Intervene in political processes

Under the supervision of IViR’s scientific staff, the students will actively intervene in current political processes and principled litigation at national and European level. The Institute’s mission is key: “to further the development of information law into a balanced framework that accommodates the needs and interests of the information society”. The IViR Lab is managed by Director Stef van Gompel and Executive Director Ot van Daalen.

Donors

The donors are Robert J. (Bob) Glushko and Prof. Pamela Samuelson. Pamela Samuelson, is Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law and Information at UC Berkeley School of Law, and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. She has been collaborating closely with IViR for many years, and is on the faculty of the Summer Courses on International Copyright Law that are annually organised by IViR. Prof. Samuelson was appointed honorary professor at the UvA in 2002.  Bob Glushko is a cognitive scientist and entrepreneur, co-founder of three companies, and currently on the faculty of the University of California Berkeley Cognitive Science Program.

Glushko and Samuelson have supported several similar initiatives at universities in the United States and Canada in recent years. IViR’s Bernt Hugenholtz is extremely pleased with the donation and initiative. “Our Lab is the first of its kind in Europe. We hope this will help our students to contribute to a fair and just information society. At the same time, the Lab offers a unique opportunity to valorise IViR research. We are very grateful to the donors.”

Amsterdam Law Practice

Dean André Nollkaemper is also delighted with the new initiative: “The Lab fits in perfectly with our educational initiative in the Amsterdam Law Practice. This makes it a wonderful example of our ambition to have students contribute to the solution of social problems and a just society through our education.”

The IViR Lab will officially bear the name of the donors: Glushko & Samuelson Information Law and Policy Lab.

Robert J. (Bob) Glushko and Prof. Pamela Samuelson
Robert J. (Bob) Glushko and Prof. Pamela Samuelson. Photo: Berkeley Law