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2025/2026  KAN-CSDEO1007U  Strategic Design, Law and Ethics

English Title
Strategic Design, Law and Ethics

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Third Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for Markets & Innovation
Course coordinator
  • Stina Teilmann-Lock - Department of Business Humanities and Law (BHL)
Main academic disciplines
  • CSR and sustainability
  • Business Law
  • Philosophy and ethics
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 02-07-2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Define and compare theoretical frameworks that describe design and architecture business and apply to exemplary cases.
  • Identify ways in which law and/or ethics are relevant to design and architecture
  • Demonstrate abilities to research and discuss ethical and/or legal implications of entrepreneurial or business decisions of designers and/or architects
  • To demonstrate abilities to research and discuss transformative roles of design and architecture business and entrepreneurship in relation to societal challenges
Examination
Strategic Design, Law and Ethics:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Essay
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Spring
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

For the exam, students are required to submit a paper of no more than 10 pages by the deadline specified by the exam administration. Students may choose their own topic within the scope of the course, formulate a research question, and select relevant sources from the course literature. While the teacher’s approval of the topic is not necessary, students may seek feedback before the exam period begins.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course applies legal and ethical analytical frameworks, concepts and notions to central issues of business and entrepreneurship in the domains of architecture and design.

 

The overall aim is to provide students with theoretical, practical and strategic insights and tools. These enable them to address matters of sustainability, technology, law and social and economic developments that condition contemporary design and architecture. 

 

Course lectures provide opportunities to examine and discuss ways in which ethical and legal frameworks may contribute to transformative value creation in strategic design, including ways in which the creation of intellectual properties by designers and architects show potentials for creating social and economic value.

 

We explore scholarly contributions at the intersections of design, architecture, business and entrepreneurship, focusing on business ethics, ethics of creative AI,  sustainability, circular economy and intellectual property, with a view to potentials for societal impact. Based on a firm understanding of diverse approaches and their interplay, the course will enable students to act ethically and legally attuned as future entrepreneurs, managers and strategic designers.

 

Real-life cases and guest lectures will complement readings and class activities in demonstrating the contribution of design and architecture to transformative business that pays heed to social, legal, environmental and ethical challenges of today.
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • New theory
  • Teacher’s own research
Research-like activities
  • Development of research questions
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
Lectures, case studies, study visits, e-learning and guest lecturers.
Feedback during the teaching period
During the course feedback will be given in two or more of the following ways: 1) oral feedback by the lecturer in the context of student presentations, 2) collective feedback by lecturer and peer feedback (in-class or via e-learning tool) based on criteria set by the course responsible in connection with cooperative learning elements and 3) individual oral or written feedback to students in preparation for the exam.
Student workload
Attending class 33 hours
Preperation 143 hours
Exam 30 hours
In total 206 hours
Expected literature

Course literature (indicative)

 

Burry, Mark, (2022) , ‘A new agenda for AI-based urban design and planning’ in Imdat As, Prithwish Basu, Pratap Talwar, eds., Artificial Intelligence in Urban Planning and Design (pp. 3-20) Amsterdam: Elsevier

 

Boddington, P. (2023). Normative Ethical Theory and AI Ethics. In: AI Ethics. Artificial Intelligence: Foundations, Theory, and Algorithms. Singapore: Springer https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​978-981-19-9382-4_6

 

Fryer, M. (2015). Ethics Theory and Business Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd https:/​/​doi.org/​10.4135/​9781473910034

 

Saura, J. R., Palacios-Marqués,D., Agustín Iturricha-Fernández, A. (2021) Ethical design in social media: Assessing the main performance measurements of user online behavior modification, Journal of Business Research, Volume 129, 2021, 271-281

 

Scott, K., Bakker, C., & Quist, J. (2012). Designing change by living change. Design Studies, 33(3), 279-297.

                       

Thorpe, A., & Gamman, L. (2011). Design with society: why socially responsive design is good enough. CoDesign, 7(3-4), 217-230.

 

Ceschin, F., & Gaziulusoy, I. (2016). Evolution of design for sustainability: From product design to design for system innovations and transitions. Design Studies, 47, 118-163.

 

Teilmann-Lock, S. (2018). ‘Design, Patents, Utility Models’ in Brown, A. E. L. & C. Waelde (eds), Research Handbook on intellectual property and creative industries London: Elgar Press

 

Raustiala, K. & Sprigman, C. (2012). The Knockoff Economy: how Imitation sparks Innovation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012

 

Papanek, V.  (1972). Design for the real world; human ecology and social change. New York: Pantheon Books

 

Michael Schrage (2012), Who do You want your Customers to Become? Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review Press

 

Mejias, Ulises Ali and Couldry, Nick (2019) ‘Datafication’, Internet Policy Review, volume 8, issue 4,

 

Poell, Thomas, and David Nieborg, and José van Dijck. (2019). ‘Platformisation’. Internet Policy Review 8 (4)

 

Marie Hebrok (2016). ‘Where Furniture Goes to Die. Designing for Sustainable Behaviour in a Practice Perspective’ Techniques & Culture [online] Suppléments au n°65-66, mis en ligne le 31 octobre 

 

Perspective Bibri, S.E. (2019) ‘The anatomy of the data-driven smart sustainable city: instrumentation, datafication, computerization and related applications’ Journal of Big Data 6: 59. 

 

Andrews, Deborah, (2015)‘The circular economy, design thinking and education for sustainability’ Local economy, Vol.30(3), pp.305-315

 

Fauchart, Emmanuelle and Eric von Hippel, (2008) ‘Norms-Based Intellectual Property Systems: The Case of French Chefs’. Organization Science 19(2):187-201. 

 

Raustiala, Kal and Sprigman, Christopher Jon, ‘The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design’ Virginia Law Review, Vol. 92, p. 1687, 2006, UCLA School of Law Research Paper No. 06-04

 

Joshua L. Cohen (2011), ‘Deliberate Differentiation by  Design: Strategies for Generating Valuable Intellectual Property’ The Design Management Institute, Vol. 22, Issue 4: 54-61 

 

Reitzig, M. (2004). ‘Strategic Management of Intellectual Property’. MIT Sloan Management Review, 45(3), 35-40

 

Vishv Priya Kohli & Stina Teilmann-Lock (2019), ‘Black is Back: Maritime and Commercial Court of Denmark Rules in Landmark Copyright Case’ in Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Vol. 14, No. 11: 829- 830 

 

Jeffrey Chan (2020), ‘Designing Ethics in Large-scale Socio-technical Systems’ in Laura Scherling & Andrew DeRosa (eds.) Ethics in Design and Communication: Critical Perspectives, Oxford: Bloomsbury

 

Marc Miquel-Ribé (2020), ‘Dark User Experience: From Manipulation to Deception’ in Laura Scherling & Andrew DeRosa (eds.) Ethics in Design and Communication: Critical Perspectives, Oxford: Bloomsbury

 

Jenny L. Davis & James B. Chouinard (2017), ‘Theorizing Affordances: From Request to Refuse’ Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society: 1-8 

 

Van Der Made, Marja. "Risk Management for Art Collections and Archives." New Review of Information Networking 26.1-2 (2021): 81-91.

 

Lingwall, Jeff. "Introduction to Contract Law." Business Law: A Risk Management Approach (2022).

 

Andersen, Camilla Baasch, and Robert De Rooy. "Employment agreements in comic book form-what a difference cartoons make." Research Handbook on Contract Design. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. 329-346.

 

Gordian Hasselblatt, Katja Middelhoff, Patrick Schneider, Adrian Zarm, Round-up of European design law decisions 2020, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021, Pages 930–952

 
Last updated on 02-07-2025