Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program

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

Student Journal

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law (SJTEIL)

University Initiatives

• Center for Business Ethics
• Seattle University Technology Ethics

TILE Associate Director LeighAnne Thompson (on left) speaking at the symposium “Expanding Access to Justice through Legal Tech Innovation and Education” at the AALS 2025 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, January 2025.

Announcements and News

• TILE March 2025 Newsletter

• TILE Associate Director LeighAnne Thompson and Legal Writing Director Kathryn Boling were interviewed for an article entitled “AI in Legal Education:  a Seattle University Excerpt,” which was just released in the January/February 2025 issue of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association’s magazine, “Piece County Lawyer.”  The author is Seattle U Law 2L Owen Leopold. The article begins on page 18 of this issue.

• TILE February 2025 Newsletter
• TILE January 2025 Newsletter
• TILE November 2024 Newsletter
• TILE October 2024 Newsletter

• TILE held its Annual Celebration of Alumni on September 30, 2024 with keynote speaker Professor Gaia Bernstein, introduced by Professor and TILE Co-Director Margaret Chon. A law professor @SetonHallLaw, an internationally prominent thought leader, and the author of "Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies," Bernstein spoke about the harmful effects of social media over-consumption for teens. The event also featured opening remarks from Dean Tony Varona and the presentation of the 2024 TILE Alumni Award from Professor and TILE Co-Director Steve Bender to @pennlaw Professor Miguel Willis ’17.
  Read more: TILE event speaker warns of youth social media addiction

• TILE September 2024 Newsletter

• The Seattle University Law Library has offered 10 students the opportunity to earn a National Society of Legal Technology certificate at no cost. Completion of the certificate signals to employers and colleagues an expertise in legal technology or e-discovery.

• The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) selected the symposium proposal, “Expanding Access to Justice through Legal Tech Innovation and Education,” to be featured at the AALS 2025 Annual Meeting in January 2025. TILE Professors Chon and Thompson, along with Penn Carey Law School professor Miguel Willis (SU Law '17), will assemble a dozen professors specializing in legal tech education to speak at this half-day symposium.

• The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) selected Seattle University for its 2024-25 Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Professor Thompson will participate in exploring the current digital evolution of student learning with generative artificial intelligence (AI). The Institute asks how to ensure that students achieve a range of learning outcomes within existing courses and programs, balanced with academic integrity and traditional pedagogy, with the use of generative AI.

• TILE Directors Margaret Chon and LeighAnne Thompson received a Multidisciplinary Generative AI Research Award from Seattle University to develop a Spring ’25 semester course on Ethical Legal Technology Development. This will be an interdisciplinary course co-taught by education, law, and computer science professors, for students who are interested in learning how to collaborate on ethical legal tech development.

  Professors Chon and Thompson are also serving on the Washington State Bar Association Legal Technology Task Force, chaired by former Mayor and U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan. Also appointed by the WSBA Board of Governors to this task force are Seattle U Law alumnae Laura Lemire and Kari Petrasek. The task force charge and charter can be found here: The Washington State Bar Association's Legal Technology Task Force (wsba.org).

• 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).

• 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.

Seventh Annual Innovation and Technology Conference

• On May 31, 2024, the law school held its 7th annual innovation and technology law conference (virtual) on the topic of Generative AI: Infringement or Innovation? Recordings of the panel discussions and keynote can be found at: 7th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference - Generative AI: Infringement or Innovation

6th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference

• Watch the event

Luminaries in Law

• Jeff Farrah, Executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association

• Zabrina Jenkins, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Starbucks

• David Zapolsky, General Counsel, Amazon