Kenneth J. Germeshausen Center for the Law of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Kenneth J. Germeshausen Center, created in 1985 through the generosity
of Kenneth J. and Pauline Germeshausen, is the umbrella organization for
Pierce Law's intellectual property specializations. Today the Germeshausen
Center is a driving force in the study of international and national intellectual
property law and the transfer of technology. It acts as a resource
to business as well as scientific, legal, and governmental interests in
patent, trademark, trade secret, licensing, copyright, computer law, and
related fields.
The Center bears the name of its benefactor Kenneth J. Germeshausen,
one of New England's pioneering inventors and professor of electrical engineering
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Germeshausen was also co-founder
of the international high technology firm of EG&G.
In keeping with the initial mission of the Center, to improve, through
training and research, the climate for commercialization of technology
in the public interest, Homer O. Blair, the Center's first director, initiated
in 1987 a series of policy-making seminars and conferences for the discussion
of intellectual property and policy studies. Professor Karl Jorda,
the Center's current director, has continued in the footsteps of Homer
Blair, and under his guidance and vision Pierce Law has
gained worldwide recognition for its work in intellectual property.
Acting as a round table for the exchange of innovative ideas and concepts,
the Germeshausen Center draws an international audience of lawyers and
administrators. Conferences held under its auspices address such
topics as advanced licensing techniques, environmental technology transfer,
international patent cooperation, and the valuation of intellectual property.
The Germeshausen Center conducts a range of research activities and
cooperative initiatives in intellectual property. These include international
faculty exchanges, library collection development, information exchanges,
and research fellowships.
Learn more about Karl F. Jorda,
David Rines Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Industrial Innovation
Director, Germeshausen Center.
