This is a simple blockchain for digital rights management made from approximately 300 lines of Python code. This code was created as a proof of concept for using blockchain for digital rights management. The code is not a business solution and is only for educational purposes.
Instructions for the Demo are located in the instructions.md file
Visit https://bluevioletunfortunatezettabyte-1.8bitc0der.repl.run/ to interact with the live demo.
As technology continues to disrupt and redefine industry and society, “practical technical knowledge needs to be integrated into many fields of education.”1 The legal field is no different. Lawyers in their roles as trusted advisors for clients, interpreters for experts, and translators for judges will be required to understand the underpinnings of technology at a basic level. The areas requiring these tech-savvy attorneys are vast -- “Network neutrality, privacy, government surveillance, self-driving cars, medical implants, Internet governance, cloud computing liability, ‘patent trolls,’ copyright and new media models, and algorithmic marketing, just to name a few.”2
One way to broaden this area of understanding is to gain proficiency in basic coding. Law schools and firms have begun to see the importance of this type of training as useful not only for lawyers specializing in technologies like blockchain, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence, but to ensure that on a more basic level all lawyers have a basic foundation in computational logic.3 Hence, the intention behind Legal Chain curriculum is less about creating a new industry of lawyers moonlighting as software developers than it is to better equip lawyers to understand the “new opportunities that technology creates, [and to] think about the new issues (practical and ethical) that such technologies create.”4
Specifically, a proficiency in blockchain theories and concepts is becoming more and more essential for lawyers to provide competent representation for their clients. Blockchain has positioned itself as the future of digital contracts and transactions, and the records of those interactions. To quote ipwatchdog.com, “To understand blockchain technology as a potential solution to problems posed ... one must first understand what the technology is and how it operates.”5
What we have provided here is a hands-on approach to learning the fundamentals of blockchain technology and coding. Participants will acquire a foundation for understanding core blockchain concepts like ledgers, immutability, hashing and coding fundamentals like functions, programming logic, and loops. This curriculum is meant to law students and practitioners how to build a proof of concept blockchain in approximately 300 lines of Python code.
By building a proof of concept blockchain, students and legal practitioners will be better positioned to engage with their future clients and the legal issues of tomorrow.
The currculum to build the open source code is coming soon!
| Project Lead: Steven Deolus |
Bio |
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Steven Deolus is a law student with a practical focus at the intersection of technology and the law. The areas of Steven’s studies and practical work includes copyright, trademarks, privacy law, media law, cybersecurity, emerging areas of intellectual property, and employment law. Additionally, Steven focuses on the legal implications and risk associated with disruptive technologies such as blockchain, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Steven uses his background of 12 years’ experience in the tech sector along with his immersive set of tech skills to support his pursuit of his passions at the intersection of technology and the law. Steven received his Bachelor of Arts from SUNY University at Buffalo in Political Science and is currently pursuing his Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School. |
| Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/8bitcoder |
| Project Contributor: Sydney Abualy |
Bio |
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce interdum, leo a mattis vulputate, est erat ornare dui, vitae sagittis ante ipsum eget dui. Vivamus sed leo nec ante mattis aliquam. Proin aliquet aliquam justo, eget tempus nulla auctor a. In eleifend, nisl quis commodo tristique, metus ipsum varius libero, vitae sollicitudin sem arcu congue tortor. Nullam bibendum augue vel magna blandit consequat. Sed ut aliquam sapien. Nunc sed risus sed est hendrerit aliquam eget eu sem. Mauris lacinia nulla vitae nulla fringilla, in volutpat tellus faucibus. Pellentesque mattis metus sem, |
| Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-lauren-abualy-289b3089 |
| Project Contributor: Claire Wasserman |
Bio |
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce interdum, leo a mattis vulputate, est erat ornare dui, vitae sagittis ante ipsum eget dui. Vivamus sed leo nec ante mattis aliquam. Proin aliquet aliquam justo, eget tempus nulla auctor a. In eleifend, nisl quis commodo tristique, metus ipsum varius libero, vitae sollicitudin sem arcu congue tortor. Nullam bibendum augue vel magna blandit consequat. Sed ut aliquam sapien. Nunc sed risus sed est hendrerit aliquam eget eu sem. Mauris lacinia nulla vitae nulla fringilla, in volutpat tellus faucibus. Pellentesque mattis metus sem, |
| Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/claire-wasserman-87977214 |
Footnotes
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https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwChJhgrhsnMHvkBgbsGQKLfnPB?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 ↩
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https://www2.law.temple.edu/10q/should-lawyers-learn-to-code/ ↩
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https://www.legalbusiness.co.uk/blogs/not-just-blue-sky-thinking-linklaters-launches-innovation-group-and-pilots-coding-training/ ↩
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https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwChJhgrhsnMHvkBgbsGQKLfnPB?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 page 30 ↩
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“Where Does Blockchain Fit in Digital Rights Management? - IPWatchdog” (IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent LawMarch 28, 2018) https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/02/06/blockchain-fit-digital-rights-management/id=93024/ accessed June 18, 2019 ↩