News about the Innovation Law and Tech Program or news about faculty or students that relates to law and technology
“Infringement by label” is when a court treats drug labels as if they were patent claims, assessing whether their text merely “contains” a patented method of use, and it is also the subject of the latest scholarly research from Professor Jacob Sherkow. Writing in the Stanford Law Review, Sherkow explains how infringement by label threatens the ability of generic drugs to enter the market and how this creates a lack of clarity in the about patent infringement.
Professor Sara Gerke has been selected to participate in the Spring 2026 cohort of the NSF CAREER Club. This campus initiative helps equip faculty with knowledge, resources, and writing support necessary to develop a competitive proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Program (CAREER). As a participant, Gerke will be provided access to information sessions, training and consultation, structured writing groups, peer feedback, reviews by experienced research development staff, and a supportive environment throughout the proposal process, from conception to submission, all at no cost.
To help residents with the high cost of insulin, a necessary drug for patients with diabetes, the state of California decided to develop its own generic brand of the medicine. The project will begin distributing “CalRx” insulin to consumers in January, and the San Jose Mercury News spoke to Professor Jacob Sherkow about how this plan is affecting insulin more broadly. The plan, he explained, is putting “downward pressure” on prices across the market.
Many recent changes in rules and regulations surrounding nuclear power reactors have been enacted with the goal of expanding the use of nuclear technology, but the shifts also run the risk of overwhelming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and threatening the industry. In a new editorial published by Nuclear Newswire, Professor Arden Rowell and a team of nuclear engineers from the University of Illinois attempt to answer urgent questions in order “to prevent industry-wide paralysis and ensure that new nuclear power reactors are deployed both safely and efficiently.”
Professor Jacob Sherkow has co-authored a new paper with Laura Valtere (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) and Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) titled “Intellectual Property, New Genomic Technologies And Plant Innovation: Clearing Innovation Pathways.” The abstract follows:
New genomic technologies (NGTs), such as genome editing-the modification of DNA in living cells-promises to revolutionize agriculture. Beyond simply yielding new, commercially viable crop varieties, NGTs also hold out promise of using novel crops as a “biosolution”-methods to improve sustainability practices by reducing pesticide usage, improving drought tolerance, increasing yield, and minimizing food and fertilizer waste. At the same time, the complex global system of intellectual property (IP) protection for crops has largely been unchanged for decades. There is accordingly some concern that the current crop IP system will not bring the promise of agricultural biosolutions to fruition. This Article reviews NGTs as biosolution and explores how they fit into the current international IP system for crops. Against this backdrop, this Article also reviews several current proposals to crop IP regime, before tentatively suggesting recommendations for rebalancing the incentive structures in crop IP.
On November 11, 2025, Jacob S. Sherkow was invested as the Richard W. and Marie L. Corman Professor of Law in a ceremony honoring his commitment to scholarship, teaching, and public engagement. In remarks shared at the ceremony, Dean Jamelle Sharpe said, “Professor Sherkow’s achievements—and the real-world impact of his work—represent the very best of what makes the University of Illinois one of the world’s finest research institutions.”
Professor Sherkow joined the University of Illinois in 2020, where he holds appointments in the College of Law, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the European Union Center, and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. His research focuses on intellectual property, regulation, and bioethics of advanced biotechnologies. He is a leading expert on IP protection for genome-editing technologies, such as CRISPR. Jake is the author of over 75 articles published in both scientific journals and traditional law reviews, including Science, Nature, JAMA, the Yale Law Journal, and the Stanford Law Review. His scholarship has been cited by various federal courts, including the Supreme Court, and he has been extensively quoted in popular media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR. His full bio is available on his faculty profile page.
Professor Sherkow’s endowed position was established by Richard W. Corman (‘40) and Marie L. Corman in 1984. Mr. Corman was a special agent of the FBI for 23 years before practicing in Virginia, where he became a member of the judiciary and also served in the Virginia General Assembly. Joined by his family, Sherkow was honored with speeches from Dr. Amy Santos, associate provost for faculty development and professor in the Department of Special Education, as well as Professor Colleen Murphy, associate dean for academic affairs.
Watch the investiture ceremony on our YouTube channel.
A new article covering the sharing of genomic data across international borders by Professor Jacob Sherkow has been published by the journal International Data Privacy Law. “A sociotechnical approach to genomic data privacy: a comparative analysis” examines new technology designed to process genomic data within a secure computing
environment that can comply with and align European Union and U.S. privacy laws that may differ in several ways.
Professor Jacob Sherkow delivered his lecture, “What’s the Skinny? Drug Labels and Patent Infringement,” at Chicago-Kent College of Law on Tuesday, October 28. The event focused on the role of drug labeling in pharmaceutical patent litigation and included discussion of the pending Supreme Court cert petition in Hikma v. Amarin, on which the Supreme Court has called for the views of the Solicitor General.
On October 17, Professor Sarah Lawsky was part of a panel discussion at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law covering “AI in Tax Law: Tax Administration &
Educating the Next Generation.” She was one of eight panelists from academia, industry, government sharing expertise on the role of artificial intelligence in tax administration, legal practice, and tax law education.
In the most recent issue of the Yale Journal on Regulation, Professor Sarah Lawsky has published a note as part of the symposium on Joshua D. Blank and Leigh Osofsky’s “Automated Agencies: The Transformation of Government Guidance.” In her article, she concludes, “Automated guidance thus might exacerbate the access to justice gap. Unlike publications, automated guidance may fool people into thinking that they have received individualized guidance, when they actually have not.”