Home Research Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Students Law & Technology Certificate Program J.D. Law & Technology Certificate

J.D. Law & Technology Certificate

The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology offers a specialized certificate program for J.D. students that recognizes successful completion of a course of study focused on technology law.

DEADLINE:

The final deadline for submitting the application is July 1 of the student’s graduation year.

However, if students wish to be noted in the graduation program as having received the certificate, they must submit the application by April 1 of their graduation year.

*We understand that the paper you intend to use to fulfill the writing requirement may not be due for class until after April 1. If this is the case, please submit a draft of the paper with your application by April 1, so that BCLT can provide preliminary approval of your application.

Submission Process

Complete the 2024 online application form by clicking on the button below. The 2024 application is currently closed. The application for 2025 will open soon.


For questions regarding the J.D. Law & Technology Certificate, contact Alexis Goett (alexisgoett@berkeley.edu) and Abril Delgado (abrildelgado@berkeley.edu).

Program Requirements

The Law & Technology Certificate Program requires completion of three core courses plus eight additional units (explained below) and a research paper, as well as participation in a law and technology student organization. It is important to note that no classes can be used to satisfy multiple requirements.

1. Completion of the core course Intellectual Property Law.

2. Completion of at least two courses from the following list of core courses:

        • Copyright
        • Computer Crime Law
        • Cybersecurity Law & Policy
        • Fundamentals of Technology Transactions
        • Information Privacy Law
        • Patent Law
        • Trademark Law
        • Trade Secrets
        • Regulated Digital Industries (Telecomm. Law & Policy)
        • Topics in Privacy & Security Law
        • Business of Intellectual Property
        • The Law and Governance of Artificial Intelligence
        • Venture Capital Law and Finance
Course offerings change every year; all listed courses may not be available.
 

3. Completion of at least eight additional units of coursework in Law & Technology. Qualifying courses include all those listed under the Intellectual Property & Technology Law category in the list of course offerings at Berkeley Law. Courses cross-listed in the Intellectual Property and Technology Law category and other tech-related courses may be counted toward the certificate requirements, but only with permission. Contact BCLT Executive Director Wayne Stacy, at stacywo@berkeley.edu.

The Samuelson Clinic can count toward a maximum of 4 credits for your additional units of coursework in Law & Technology.

ENGIN 273 Deep Tech Commercialization Strategies will be accepted as an additional course to count toward this certificate if taken during the Fall semester.

4. A writing component, fulfilled by completing a publication-quality paper on a law and technology topic, such as a contribution to the Annual Review of Law & Technology through the Law and Technology Writing Workshop, or a LAW 299 individual research-and-writing project. This paper must be solo-authored, exceptions to the number of authors for your paper will be considered in limited circumstances. 

5. An activity component, fulfilled by substantial participation in at least one approved activity for two semesters, or two approved activities for one semester. This requirement is designed to encourage students to develop collaborative working skills and to complement the substantive knowledge derived from course-related work. The list of approved activities will be reviewed periodically by BCLT. Participating in the following activities satisfies the activity component: 

Students may request to have another law and technology-related activity approved, such as a moot court competition relating to intellectual property.

Variance Process

There is some flexibility in the application of the certificate requirements, allowing students to substitute other curricular and extra-curricular activities for a shortfall in the formal requirements. Students who are close to meeting the L&T certificate requirements may submit an L&T certificate application (see below) along with a brief (one paragraph) request for a variance. Among the types of requests that will be favorably reviewed are:

(1) I have taken take only two core courses but I have taken eleven or more units from among the Law & Tech “electives;” or
(2) I have some other basis for claiming functional equivalence of a core or elective course (e.g., RA work, externship, extensive clinical work, other writing projects)