Summary: Two brand new concentrations have been added to the Master of Science in Law program offered by the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
The brand new master of science in law program at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law has been expanded, according to The Republic.
The program now offers specializations in patent law and cybersecurity. With the addition of these two specializations, the program now offers five options.
The program is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2015 and will provide non-lawyer professionals with a stronger understanding of law and policy.
The other three specializations are environmental law, crisis management and health care law.
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Michael Greenberger, the director of the university’s Center for Health and Homeland Security, said, “We’ve seen in our work with private companies that employees who have technical knowledge about cybersecurity would be helped tremendously if they also were able to have expertise on the law and policy of cyber.”
Greenberger will oversee the two new specializations. He said that students will be able to take courses related to both fields.
Patricia Campbell, the director of the Maryland Intellectual Property Legal Resource Center, said that the patent law specialization is for software developers, engineers, inventors and those who are interested in patent matters.
“We’re thinking about people working in technology companies, whether that’s computer hardware, software or biotech — employees who are actually inventing things,” said Campbell.
Campbell will supervise the patent law specialization.
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“Maybe they’re in management and concerned with creating an IP strategy, but need to have a better understanding of patent and IP laws,” Campbell said. “The program would teach those people what’s a patentable invention, and train them to work more efficiently with their lawyers.”
Courses within the patent law track include how to become a registered patent agent, according to Campbell.
“If you’ve just finished a Ph.D. in biotech, maybe you don’t want to commit to three more years of law school,” she said.
Greenberger added, “It could be working with the General Assembly on a state statute, or working on a federal statute. We have contacts with private partners who are setting up tactical defenses to hacking or creating offensive tactics that would aid the U.S. in piercing, for example, North Korea’s cyber infrastructure.”
Greenberger expects six students to be enrolled in the cybersecurity concentration this coming fall. Campbell feels there will be 15 students in the patent law concentration.
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Image credit: University of Maryland
Source: The Republic