Seattle is home to a robust and innovative entrepreneurial community at the forefront of emerging transformative technologies. For those who desire to contribute to this exciting sector, Seattle University School of Law offers a comprehensive program in innovation law, including intellectual property, with an emphasis on ethics, values, and social justice. Situated in a global city, the program offers comparative and international perspectives, in addition to a strong grounding in U.S. law.

Areas of Focus

Intellectual Property

  • Copyright
  • Patent
  • Trademark

Transformative Technologies

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Internet
  • Privacy

Ethics and Entrepreneurship

  • Ethics of Innovation and Technology
  • Law Practice Technology and Ethics
  • Representing Entrepreneurs

Degrees

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JD

Choose from the courses below to create a curriculum centered on innovation law, including intellectual property, based on your interests and desired practice areas.

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LLM in Technology and Innovation

For both foreign-trained lawyers and attorneys trained in the United States who want to focus their studies in technology and innovation law-related areas such as cybersecurity, digital commerce, financial technology, and privacy.

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Master of Legal Studies (MLS) in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

For non-lawyers interested in technology and innovation law-related fields, including compliance, consulting, government, banking, and business.

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Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)

For distinguished students who have already earned a law degree and who want to focus on a specific area of research and writing, including technology and innovation law.

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Charisse Arce

Online MLS in Compliance & Risk Management

With a curriculum grounded in the foundations of compliance and risk management, our students graduate with a commanding knowledge of law, legal analysis, and the frameworks used to identify, assess, and respond to risks related to fintech, data, and cybersecurity. Courses are open to JD and LLM students who meet specific criteria.

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Seattle skyline as seen from Gas Works Park

Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE)

Gain an insider’s view into Seattle’s start-up culture and learn to contribute legal expertise to cutting-edge innovators during a late-spring/early summer intensive institute that offers a menu of courses suitable for JD, MLS, and LLM students.

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Recent SITIE events

Clinics

Internships and Externships (Selected)

  • AeroMech
  • Allen Institute
  • Amazon
  • Arts Law Center UNIGE
  • Attorney General of WA (University of Washington) General Practice Team
  • BECU
  • Boeing
  • Costco
  • Doyon Utilities
  • Edifecs
  • Expedia
  • Federal Trade Commission
  • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
  • Fulkrum Inc, UK
  • Glowforge, Inc.
  • Gusto
  • Hagen Resources International
  • Ionic Security
  • Macerich
  • Microsoft
  • NAIOP Washington State, Government Affairs Committee
  • NCR
  • NCSOFT
  • Neon Rose Agency
  • Nintendo (Gregoire Fellows Program)
  • Porch Group, Inc.
  • Proliance Surgeons
  • Quest software
  • Salesforce
  • Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
  • Seagen
  • Seattle Art Museum
  • Seattle Children’s Hospital
  • Seattle Sounders FC
  • Seattle Symphony
  • Starbucks Coffee Company
  • Sub Pop Records
  • T-Mobile
  • Thames River Valley AI Hub, UK
  • United States Air Force JAG Corps - Joint Base Lewis - McChord Legal Office
  • University of Exeter-GLAM E Lab, UK
  • University of Washington CoMotion
  • Vestas American Wind Technology
  • Washington State Patent Law Association – Intellectual Property Social Media Internship
  • Wizards of the Coast
  • World Intellectual Property Organization
  • Zillow

Announcements and News

  • The Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law has published the TILE launch keynote speech by Gigi Sohn: "Broadband, Social Justice, and the Future of Universal Connectivity" (seattleu.edu).
  • 3Ls Sam Coren and Jacob Simmons are competing in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the International Trademark Association (INTA) and supported by TILE.
  • 1L Darian Mullen is the Seattle U Law liaison to the AIPLA Law School Link. Over a dozen Seattle U law students are members, supported by TILE.
  • TILE’s new Associate Director LeighAnne Thompson is co-chairing a working group of Washington librarians to study legislative efforts to expand access to digital information.
  • TILE faculty co-director Margaret Chon just published a review of Abitron v. Hetronic (U.S. 2023), regarding extraterritoriality of the Lanham Act.
  • TILE faculty member Jack Kirkwood recently published this blogpost and has also presented across the country on the role that new legislation and regulation might play in controlling the Tech Giants, on “Common Ownership and the Merger Guidelines,” as well as on two threats to administrative agencies — the Major Questions Doctrine and the Supreme Court’s reconsideration of Chevron.
  • Professor Kirkwood, a nationally renowned antitrust expert, has shared his insights on multiple media outlets on issues such as the Amazon suit that alleges inflation of online prices and overcharging sellers, the FTC’s challenge to the Microsoft/Activision merger, and the current FTC Chair, Lina Khan.
  • Longtime beloved adjunct professor Bob Cumbow has been awarded best lawyer 2024 Trademark Lawyer of the Year in the Seattle area. An SU law alumnus (class of ’91), Professor Cumbow has taught trademark law to generations of SU law students and has counseled many on their journeys toward careers in intellectual property law practice.
  • TILE Professor John Kirkwood wrote an amicus brief, signed by 27 law professors around the country, as part of a federal court case challenging a merger. The brief argues that the merger is likely to reduce competition to develop a superior early-stage cancer test, delaying or degrading the creation of potentially life-saving technology. Read the full brief.
  • TILE Faculty Member Margaret Chon participated in the USPTO Stakeholder listening session: US intellectual property priorities abroad.
  • TILE faculty member LeighAnne Thompson spoke about ChatGPT 101 for Lawyers at a webinar sponsored by the King County Law Library.
  • TILE faculty member Mark Chinen has published a new book, The International Governance of Artificial Intelligence, which combines his expertise in AI and international Law.
  • TILE faculty member Margaret Chon published a blogpost, Trademark Extraterritoriality: Abitron v. Hetronic Doesn’t Go the Distance, with co-author Professor Christine Haight Farley in the Technology & Marketing Law Blog.
  • TILE faculty member Jack Kirkwood received the Jerry S. Cohen Award from the American Antitrust Institute for the best antitrust article on platforms, Tech Giant Exclusion.

6th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference

Luminaries in Law

Board members of the 2023 Intellectual Property Law Society in Sullivan Hall
The Intellectual Property Law Society board

Employers (Selected)*

Our graduates are building careers at a variety of innovative organizations, including:

  • Adobe
  • Allen Institute
  • Amazon
  • Amylyx Pharmaceuticals
  • Apple
  • Avvo
  • Axiom
  • Cancer Research and Biostatistics
  • Cisco
  • Dell
  • DocuSign
  • ElevateBio
  • Expedia
  • GitHub
  • Glassdoor
  • Google
  • Hasbro
  • Intel
  • Meta/Facebook
  • Microsoft
  • Natera
  • Netflix
  • Oracle
  • Redfin
  • Samsung
  • T-Mobile
  • TechGC
  • TikTok
  • Toyota North America
  • United States Air Force JAG
  • Universal Music Group
  • USPTO
  • Veritas Technologies
  • Wizards of the Coast

*This list does not include the many regional, national, and international law firms where our distinguished alumni are practicing in areas related to technology and innovation law.

Other University Initiatives

Faculty — Career

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Steven Bender

TILE Faculty Co-Director

Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Law

Expertise: Ethics and Innovation

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Margaret Chon

TILE Faculty Co-Director

Donald and Lynda Horowitz Endowed Chair for the Pursuit of Justice

Expertise: Intellectual Property, International Intellectual Property

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LeighAnne Thompson

TILE Associate Director

Director of Digital Innovations, Law Library

Expertise: Law Practice Technology and Ethics, Legal Research

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Mark Chinen

Professor of Law

Expertise: Artificial Intelligence

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John Eason

Professor of Law

Expertise: Intellectual Property, Property

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Seth Katsuya Endo

Associate Professor of Law

Expertise: Legal Technology and Ethics

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John B. Kirkwood

Professor of Law

Expertise: Antitrust

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Steve Tapia

Distinguished Practitioner in Residence

Expertise: Technology Law

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Anthony E. Varona

Dean and Professor of Law

Expertise: Media and Communications Law

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