News

Professor Shubha Ghosh Weighs in on Copyright Concerns in “AI-Faked Drake, The Weeknd Song Amps Music Industry’s IP Alarm”

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law and Director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute Shubha Ghosh spoke with Bloomberg Law News for their article “AI-Faked Drake, The Weeknd Song Amps Music Industry’s IP Alarm.”

Ghosh discussed concerns related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and music copyright as the U.S. Copyright Office has not provided copyright protection to works entirely generated by AI. “In the Copyright Office’s view, it’s a bit like the photographer: Are you just pushing the button, or are you adding other inputs like framing the photo.”

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Jeremy Gurgis L’23 wins SU Libraries Outstanding Student Employee Award

Jeremy Gurgis, a three-year student employee at the Law Library, has been awarded a Kathy and Stanley Walters Student Employee Scholarship for his outstanding service to the SU Libraries.  This award recognizes student employees who have demonstrated dedicated service over time and significant contributions that have made a lasting impact on the SU Libraries.

Gurgis joined the Law Library during his 1L year, working at the Circulation Desk, using his expertise to help his fellow law students access the Law Library’s collections and services.  “Jeremy exemplifies the value that student employees add to Law Library services,” says Law Library Director Jan Fleckenstein G’84, G’86, L’11.  “He has always gone ‘above and beyond’ to help his fellow law students and to support the work of our Law Librarians and staff.  We are delighted to see his dedication to the Law Library and the College of Law recognized across the campus.” 

The Kathy and Stanley Walters Student Employee Scholarship Awards are generously supported by Kathy and Stanley Walters, the family of Patricia Kutner Strait, and the many donors to the SU Libraries Dean’s Fund. 

College of Law Receives Major Gift to Name Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in Honor of Clinic Founder Sherman F. Levey ’57, L’59

(Syracuse, NY | May 15, 2023) Syracuse University College of Law announced today it is receiving a major gift for which it will rename its Low Income Taxpayer Clinic the Sherman F. Levey ’57, L’59 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).

Levey, who passed away in April 2018, is credited with establishing the LITC in 2002 while teaching at the College of Law.  As an adjunct professor at the College of Law and a full-time practicing lawyer in Rochester, NY he secured the clinic’s original funding.  Former colleague and now Emeritus Professor Martin L. Fried recalls conversations with Levey as the idea for the LITC was taking shape, in which they discussed the need to offer law students an alternative to the criminal law clinic that was popular at the time.  “We wanted to give students who were interested in business and the commercial sphere a chance to get some clinical experience in the real world and insight that could make them better lawyers,” says Fried.  “Sherm was the mover and shaker behind the LITC, seeing that it could help our students and people who would never have had a chance against the IRS.” Levey served as the co-director of the clinic for many years alongside current LITC director Professor Robert Nassau.

“My father always supported the underdog because he started as one,” says Lynn Levey G’94 L’94.  “He was entirely self-made.  He loved the practice of law and wanted the students to love the practice, to see there were all these different things you could do with it, that it was fun, and that you could serve others.”

Levey, who passed away in 2018, formed the tax law firm of Rubin and Levey in Rochester with Sydney R. Rubin after law school. The firm eventually merged with Harris, Beach and Wilcox to form Harris, Beach, Wilcox, Rubin and Levey.  Most recently he was Of Counsel at Boylan Code LLP.

Lynn Levey, along with brother Ted, sister Amy, and Sherm’s cousin Edith D. Warner, decided to honor Levey’s life and legacy of service and learning with a significant gift to the College of Law.

Learning is the primary goal of the clinic, says Nassau. “We ask ourselves: Did the student attorney learn a new and important body of tax knowledge and how to implement and deploy it in real-life situations? Did the student attorney help to resolve a taxpayer’s legal controversies and experience the joy and professional satisfaction that flows from such work?” says Nassau, “in most cases, I can see knowledge and empathy and excitement blossoming in the brains and hearts of our student attorneys.” 

“As a former tax attorney, I can certainly appreciate the need for the kind of assistance provided by the students in the LITC and the role it plays in our community,” says College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise.  “It also plays a vital role in legal education.  Sherm Levey was a visionary.  He understood the importance of law students gaining practical skills and was a key player in the evolution of clinical programs that make Syracuse College of Law both distinctive and relevant. The College of Law community is thankful for his dedication to the College and his family’s generosity.”

The LITC offers legal assistance to lower-income taxpayers who have controversies with the Internal Revenue Service. The controversies may include collection, examination, and appeals matters.

Students represent clients in administrative proceedings before the I.R.S., and in judicial proceedings before the United States Tax Court or Federal District Courts. Read more about the Sherman F. Levey ’57, L’59 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in our 2023 Stories Book.

Professors Emily Brown L’09 and Laura Lape Honored at Center for Disability Resource’s Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony

Congratulations to Professors Emily Brown L’09 and Laura Lape, who both received honors in at the 9th Annual Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony. Hosted by the Center for Disability Resources, the awards are presented to individuals who have exceeded expectations and embrace a culture of empowering students, inclusion, and celebrating disability as diversity.  

Brown, nominated by 2L Elle Borgdorff, and Lape, nominated by Jessica Senzer L’23, said they found it moving to attend the ceremony and see how much inclusive practices mean to students across campus.

Professors Emily Brown and Laura Lape Accept Awards

Professor Nina Kohn Discusses Issues Surrounding Guardianship and Civil Rights of the Elderly with The New York Times

In the long-format feature story in the New York Times, “The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia” David M. Levy L’48 Professor of Law Nina Kohn provides perspective on the legal and sociological issues around aging, guardianship, and civil rights of the elderly.

“The question becomes, for the older adult, what are the barriers to evolving, to changing your opinions, to forming new relationships?” asks Kohn. She continues, discussing how behavior changes in the elderly may be interpreted.

Syracuse University’s Office of Research and College of Law Partner to Advance Technology Transfer; College of Law Appoints New Professor of Practice

(Syracuse, NY | May 8, 2023) The Office of Research and the College of Law have entered a partnership to combine the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and the Innovation Law Center (ILC) to advance the University’s goals in invention, innovation, and industry partnerships. This joint venture assumes responsibility for technology transfers and all aspects of the commercialization of research generated by faculty, researchers, students, and staff across Syracuse University’s schools and colleges.

“By incorporating the University’s Office of Technology Transfer within the College of Law’s Innovation Law Center, we leverage the expertise, resources, and infrastructure of our renowned program whose faculty, staff, and students specialize in IP protection, licensing, and moving new technologies and innovations from lab to market,” says College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise.

Boise also announced that Executive Director of the ILC Brian Gerling L’99, has been appointed a Professor of Practice on the Syracuse Law faculty. Gerling will provide operational oversight and strategic direction to the OTT as Special Advisor on Technology Transfer to Syracuse University’s Vice President of Research, Duncan Brown.

“Bringing the ILC and the OTT together will directly benefit the University by accelerating our technology transfer and commercialization processes and enabling law students to work with technologies and clients from within our campus,” says Brown. “With Executive Director Gerling at the helm, we will embark on an extensive strategic planning process to elevate the OTT as a gold standard for tech transfer offices among our peer research institutions.”

“The functions of a tech transfer office are perfectly suited for the ILC,” says Gerling. “Our core competencies in law and IP help to surface important legal issues and challenges early in the commercialization process which benefits clients enormously. We look forward to working with the University’s vast network of innovators and entrepreneurs, while also augmenting opportunities for our students to gain practical skills and prepare them for careers as IP and business lawyers.”

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives, and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals, and impact beyond what’s possible.

About the Innovation Law Center and Brian Gerling

The Innovation Law Center (ILC) educates students on the technical, legal, and business aspects of bringing new technologies to market. This experiential education launches careers in law firms, corporations, government agencies, tech transfer offices, consulting and investing firms, and beyond.

ILC students work together with Syracuse University engineering and business school students to advise clients on their intellectual property (IP) assets and deliver regulatory, patent, and market research to support the commercialization of those assets. They have completed hundreds of advisory projects on behalf of universities, federal research laboratories, technology development organizations, start-ups, established companies, and entrepreneurs. ILC faculty conduct classes on IP, patent law, entrepreneurship, tech commercialization, and related topics.

ILC students are eligible for tuition relief, scholarships, summer fellowships, and paid senior research associate positions through the Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), which, since 2004, has designated the ILC as New York’s only Science and Technology Law Center.

ILC’s Executive Director and College of Law Professor of Practice, Brian Gerling, has had nearly two decades of intellectual property and commercial litigation experience. He is also Of Counsel at Barclay Damon LLLP, where his practice focuses on IP, data privacy, emerging technology, and economic development. He serves on the Board of the Central New York International Business Alliance and on the Technology Council of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York. In addition to his J.D., cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law, Gerling holds a B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Associate Professor Jennifer Breen was Recognized by Syracuse University with a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Teaching Recognition Award

Associate Professor Jennifer Breen received a 2022-23 Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for Early Performance in recognition of her excellence in teaching.

She was “selected for this award upon the recommendation of a committee of Meredith Professors, Teaching Recognition Awardees, and student representatives.”

Professor Breen teaches Constitutional law, administrative law, and labor law. Her interdisciplinary scholarship is centrally concerned with democratic governance in the United States and pays particular attention to the roles of gender and labor politics. 

She has recently completed or is working on several new articles:

  • “Democratic Erosion and the United States Supreme Court” (forthcoming Utah Law Review, spring 2024) This article is the first to employ its novel approach to the examination of democratic erosion in the United States by adopting a comprehensive method from the comparative political literature. Through the identification of four key areas for studies of democratic erosion — electoral rules, executive aggrandizement, income inequality, and speech rights — and examination of how the Supreme Court has intervened in each area between the 2016 and 2021 terms, this article is able to provide a new perspective on the Court’s role in democratic erosion. 
  • “Democracy, Republicanism, and the Roberts Court” (work in progress). This project examines Supreme Court opinions issued by the Roberts Court with the goal of understanding how the members of the Court understand the concepts of “democracy” and “republicanism.” How do different Justices define these key ideas? What roles do they see for themselves in promoting (or impeding) these foundational tenets of representative government in the United States?
  • “Labor Unions and Public Health Outreach” (with Gretchen Purser, Syracuse University Associate Professor of Sociology). This project examines the roles played by labor unions in public health campaigns during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorships for Teaching Excellence were created in 1995 to recognize and reward outstanding teaching among faculty. In 2001, the Meredith Professorship Program was expanded to recognize teaching excellence by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors. Awards are given in two categories: Early Performance and Continuing Excellence.

Chancellor Syverud and Professor Breen at the One University Awards 2023

Syracuse University College of Law Adds Civil Litigation and Disability Law Expert Katherine A. Macfarlane to Its Faculty

(Syracuse, NY | April 27, 2023) Leading expert on civil procedure, civil rights litigation and disability law Katherine A. Macfarlane will join the Syracuse University College of Law faculty as Associate Professor of Law, and Director of the College’s Disability Law and Policy Program this fall.

Katherine Macfarlane

Macfarlane comes to Syracuse Law from the Southern University Law Center where she served as an associate professor. Previously, she served as an associate professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, and from 2013 to 2015, she served as a teaching fellow at the LSU Hebert Law Center.  Macfarlane also serves as the Special Counsel for Disability Rights, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.  Prior to entering academia, Macfarlane was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department, serving as lead counsel in federal civil rights actions. She also practiced law at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in the firm’s Los Angeles and New York offices, where she represented plaintiffs in securities litigation. Macfarlane clerked on U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is admitted to practice in California and New York. 

Macfarlane has written extensively on accessibility, employment, accommodations, and many other disability law topics along with federal procedure and civil rights.  At Syracuse Law, she will teach Civil Rights Litigation, Disability Law, and Torts.

“Professor Macfarlane deepens our bench of civil rights and civil procedure faculty with her extensive background in federal practice and procedure.  She is also a noted disability law scholar who, as Director of the College’s leading Disability Law and Policy Program, will bring a fresh vision to our disability law courses and programming,” says College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise. All our students will benefit from her commitment to making the classroom an engaging learning environment.”

“I look forward to joining the impressive Syracuse Law faculty and teaching classes that align with my areas of expertise and my scholarship interests.  The College of Law’s distinguished and world-renowned disability law program was a major driver of my decision,” says Macfarlane.

Macfarlane has been published in numerous law journals and high-profile publications including forthcoming works in American University Law Review and Tulane Law Review along with published articles and essays in Fordham Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Utah Law Review, and many more.

Professor Macfarlane has chaired the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Disability Law and co-founded the AALS Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies. Her academic awards include the Chai Feldblum Award, AALS Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies, and the University of Idaho College of Law Diversity and Human Rights Award.

Professor Macfarlane received her B. A. in Spanish Language and Gender Studies, magna cum laude, from Northwestern University, and her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she served as Chief Articles Editor of the Loyola Law Review and received the Order of the Coif. She was a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Arthur L. Alarcón of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Hon. Frederick J. Martone of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.