Eileen M. Kane

Professor of Law

Eileen Kane is a Professor of Law at Penn State Law, specializing in teaching and scholarship at the juncture of technology and the law. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Cornell University, where she received a research fellowship and the Vincent du Vigneaud Award for Excellence in Research. She has published scientific papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Virology and conducted research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Professor Kane’s interest in the intersection of science and the law led her to obtain a J.D. and work as a scientific advisor and patent attorney in a major New York City law firm prior to entering academia.

Professor Kane draws upon her scientific and legal backgrounds to teach a wide range of courses that blend the latest scientific advancements and fast-paced legal developments in biotechnology, the Internet, and intellectual property. Her legal scholarship is focused on biotechnology, including such issues as gene patenting, human genome editing, and genetic testing. Professor Kane is registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is a former Chair of the Biolaw Section of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS). She also maintains a website, KaneBioLaw, that covers legal and policy developments in biotechnology and genetics.

 

Eileen M. Kane

Location: University Park

Email  emk17@psu.edu

Phone  814-863-3166

SSRN

Prof. Kane in the Media

KaneBioLaw

Faculty Impact


Education
J.D., Fordham University

Ph.D., Cornell University

B.A., Hunter College


Current Courses
Internet Law

Introduction to Intellectual Property

Patent Law

Property

Kane’s Publications

Human Genome Editing: An Evolving Regulatory Climate, 57 Jurimetrics J. 301 (2017)

Amicus Brief, “Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics” (Supreme Court, 2013)

Amicus Brief, “Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent & Trademark Office” (Federal Circuit, 2012)

“Patenting Genes and Genetic Methods: What’s At Stake?” 6 J. Bus. and Tech. L. 1 (2011)

Amicus Brief, “Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent & Trademark Office” (Federal Circuit 2010)

“Protecting the Intellectual Foundations of Genetic Science,” 23 GeneWatch 16 (2010)

“Achieving Clinical Equality in an Influenza Pandemic: Patent Realities,” 39 Seton Hall L. Rev. 1137 (2009)

“Patent-Mediated Standards in Genetic Testing,” 2008 Utah L. Rev. 835 (2008)

“Molecules and Conflict: Cancer, Patents and Women’s Health,” 15 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 305 (2007)


The American Bar Association has granted conditional approval for Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law to reunify and operate as Penn State University’s single law school under the name Penn State Dickinson Law with locations in Carlisle and University Park. Danielle M. Conway is the dean of the unified Penn State Dickinson Law, which will enroll a unified class in fall 2025.