The New York State Technology Commercialization Law Center at Syracuse University, funded by New York State, is directed to the goal of connecting university technology and intellectual property creation to regional development through its work in connecting law students and legal practitioners to start-up companies that are developing technologies in the fields of medicine, information science, and diagnostics. The Center seeks to develop models for training and research that can be transmitted to developing countries through its collaboration with the National Law University in Delhi, India, a research law university engaged in analysis of economic development initiatives and legal reform.

The primary implementation technologies involve translating case studies into generalizable models of assessing markets and social needs for new technologies. These case studies will be used as teaching tools in classroom instruction on technology transfer and commercialization both at Syracuse University College of Law and at the National Law University of India. Through classroom discussion and instruction, the case studies can be refined and generalized for a general understanding of technology development and the role of universities in training professionals about the practices of technology development and dissemination. In addition, the case studies will serve to formulate policies pertaining to technology commercialization which can be communicated to government policymakers for the purposes of fashioning legal and institutional reforms at the national and regional levels. Engagement with policy occurs through work with the Honey Bee Network and government policymakers. Specifically, the Honey Bee Network collaborates with the national government in organizing the Festival of India, held annually as a week-long discussion of initiatives for promoting innovation and technology dissemination in India. Policy recommendations gleans from the case studies developed at Syracuse will be presented at the Festival of India as possible models for supporting technology development and dissemination in India and possibly other developing countries. In conclusion, the implementation methodology involves translating studies of technology implementation at the Center into policy recommendations that will be shared with policy reformers focused on economic development and technology dissemination.

As mentioned above, the key arrangements for capacity-building and technology transfer include (1) student engagement through the Center with technology creators seeking to understand mechanisms for technology dissemination, (2) classroom instruction about the case studies to glean general policy recommendations and needs for legal reform, and (3) communication of these recommendations to policy reformers and NGOs in India that are engaged in creating an environment for innovation and economic development through indigenous technology development. These three components are described in greater detail above. It should be pointed out here how these three components interact to form a sustainable model for professional training, translating technology development into commercialization and dissemination, and policy reform. At the heart of this model are creative inventors, the university's role in training students and developing policy initiatives, and communication with government reformers. Our initiative brings together these pieces for the purposes of connecting technology, innovation, and economic development policy.

The primary mechanism is education and training of law students and technical professionals in the fields of intellectual property law and research and development by universities and start-ups. Through training of students, an important work product is the case study of specific technologies and pathways for their dissemination. These case studies aid in understanding how law, particularly intellectual property and business law, support economic development at the regional level. Training modules include interactions between students and experienced and seasoned professionals in the fields of law and business development. Each module focuses on specific technologies created by research teams and individual inventors that are assessed for dissemination in society and contribution to economic growth and development. Assessments are set forth in written case studies that are shared with the technology creator and provide models for assessing and implementing technologies in a socially beneficial manner. The work of the Center provides models for technology dissemination in developing countries. The primary global partner is the National Law University where researchers are connected to the initiatives of the Indian government of promoting technology and start-up culture in various regions of India. A key NGO in India is the Honeybee Network that works with the National Law University and the Indian government in identifying indigenous technologies created by entrepreneurial Indians seeking to disseminate technological solutions to problems of labor saving devices in agriculture and delivery of clean water for consumption and agricultural access. The models developed at the Technology Law Center illustrate how universities can collaborate with NGO''s like the Honey Bee Network and national and regional governments with the goal of technology creation and dissemination.

Syracuse University College of Law, National Law University of Delhi