Founded in 1990 by the late Professor Ted Hagelin, the Technology Commercialization Law Program (TCLP) was the first in the nation to combine scholarly legal analysis and a guided, hands-on law curriculum with the active development of new technologies, intellectual property (IP), and start-up companies. Under the subsequent leadership of Syracuse University College of Law professors Jack Rudnick and Shubha Ghosh, the program has continued to pioneer the teaching and practice of innovation and the law, boasting hundreds of successful alumni, dozens of early stage companies assisted, a widening network of partners and collaborators, and a growing body of salient scholarship.
The program is a significant differentiator for the College, a focal point of its academic strategic plan, and one of the pillars upon which its scholarly and pedagogical reputation is built. Recognizing this strength, earlier this year, New York State’s economic development agency—NYSTAR—once again designated TCLP the New York State Science and Technology Law Center (NYSSTLC), this time extending the designation period from three to five years.
To ensure the program’s continued growth and success, College of Law and TCLP leadership—with critical input from the College’s IP faculty—have worked during the past year to reshape and divide the work of professors Rudnick and Ghosh between two new entities, beginning in Fall 2018.
First, the experiential work of Professor Rudnick and his staff and students will form the core of what will now be known as the Innovation Law Center. This new title better captures the essence of what the Center does—nurturing innovation through legal assistance—and it also represents the spectrum of sub-disciplines and services that Rudnick’s team addresses.
The Innovation Law Center will continue to oversee NYSSTLC (the NYSTAR center) and offer students the opportunity to assist with emerging technologies via a course called the Innovation Law Practicum. The Center also will explore new opportunities, such as additional applied learning law courses, executive education mini-courses, and an innovation law practice incubator.
Second, Professor Ghosh will lead a new institute for the College: the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute (SIPLI). Founded on Ghosh’s pre-eminent scholarship in the field, SIPLI will pursue interdisciplinary research in the areas of IP, technology transfer, licensing, patents and trademarks, business regulation, and antitrust law, and it will publish and present in leading academic and practitioner forums. Most importantly, SIPLI will apply this scholarship to new academic opportunities for College of Law students.
Ghosh will remain the faculty lead for the College’s Curricular Program in IP and Technology Commercialization, and students will continue to hone their skills in the Intellectual Property Law Association and the Syracuse Journal of Science and Technology Law. Reflecting their shared interests and approaches, the Innovation Law Center and SIPLI will work closely together, coordinating the College’s directed technology law curriculum and sharing resources and deliverables.
“This new structure will positively impact the College’s ability to recruit students; enable us to cover more ground in a growing field; help us to integrate more thoroughly into the University’s innovation ecosystem; and further cement our reputation as a leader in law and technology programming,” says Dean Craig M. Boise. “With clear identities and new missions in place, I’m confident that the Innovation Law Center and SIPLI will reach new heights, collaborating within the College, across Syracuse University, and around the country.”
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