The College of Law has announced that it has been redesignated as the New York State Science and Technology Law Center by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation. The center was established at the College of Law in 2004 with a mission to facilitate New York’s economic development by helping to bring new technologies to market.
The College of Law has been redesignated as the New York State Science and Technology Law Center.
The center utilizes the expertise of Syracuse law faculty in matters of intellectual property and business law to provide valuable early-stage technology research. The center is further supported by law students enrolled in the Technology Commercialization Law Program headed by faculty member Jack Rudnick, visiting professor of practice; director of the Technology Commercialization Law Program; and director of the New York State Science & Technology Law Center.
“The re-designation allows us to continue to serve entrepreneurs and businesses in developing new technologies, protecting the innovations and finding applications for novel inventions,” says Rudnick. “The center gives our students experience in the vast world of technology law that they cannot find anywhere else.”
College of Law students enrolled in the tech commercialization law program work directly with businesses in evaluating new technologies and related legal issues, such as intellectual property protection, regulatory hurdles, funding sources, patent opportunities and overall assessment of the new technology.
“This program is a huge win for both the clients and the students. Clients get in-depth evaluations of their new technology and our students have hands-on experience that prepares them for future careers,” says Rudnick. “The NYS Science and Technology Law Center has helped numerous individuals and companies that have had a real impact on our region and the careers of our students and alumni.”
More than 200 companies with technologies ranging from fuel cells to drug delivery methods to brain scanning have been served by the center since its establishment at the College of Law in 2004. Over 100 research projects were completed during the past three years alone.
The Program in Technology and Commercialization at the College of Law is one of the oldest such legal programs in the nation and is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2015. The program was one of the first to foresee the growing need for attorneys skilled in matters of intellectual property management and technology commercialization. More than 350 students have graduated from the program.
“Lawyers need to not only have a deep understanding of the law, but also knowledge of technology and business to determine market success,” says Rudnick. “For our students to be as successful as they have, this experience has proven to be a defining moment in their legal careers.”
The NYS Science and Technology Law Center was created by the Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation in recognition of the technology commercialization law program at the College of Law. The first New York state-designated Science and Technology Law Center program was established in May 2001 by then-Gov. George Pataki.
