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The law school is poised to become a significant force in the revitalization of the Indiana economy through the establishment of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Innovation. The Center, which emphasizes the life sciences and the nurturing of intellectual property in a business context, was approved in early May by the IU Board of Trustees.

Goals of the Center include serving as a resource for government, business, law firms and the newly-developed BioCrossroads initiative; taking a leadership role in graduate education designed to enhance opportunities for intellectual property professionals, and producing J.D. graduates with strong knowledge in the area of intellectual property law. Additionally, the Center will assist across a broad spectrum of applied research initiatives, collaborating with partners in the IU system as well as with other U.S. and international intellectual property institutes and centers.

“Two distinctive qualities of the Center will be an emphasis on the issues of the life sciences and related industries, as well as a practical and transactional application of IP law in the business context,” said Professor Kenneth Crews, interim director of the Center. Crews, the Samuel R. Rosen II Professor of Law, brings to his duties a background in business and IP law, a decade as director of the university’s Copyright Management Center, and research and teaching experience in domestic and international IP law.

While the Center focuses much of its efforts on issues surrounding the life sciences, it  encompasses other aspects of intellectual property law as well. The future work of the center will undoubtedly expand, according to law school dean, Tony Tarr, because of the dynamic nature of intellectual property issues and the diverse needs of the community.

One of the first facets of the Center to be set in motion will be the addition of a new track in the school’s LL.M. Program that will focus on intellectual property law. This track will enroll its first students in August of this year and promises to attract faculty of national stature. To support both the LL.M. and the J.D. programs, the law school is greatly expanding the IP curriculum, and through the Center many of these developments will be made available to the law and business communities. The Center’s Board of Advisors includes leaders in medicine, science, law and education. Additional Center programs will be underway later in the year.