Generative AI tools are quickly becoming part of the ordinary workflow for researchers, engineers, and product teams. Inventors may use AI to brainstorm alternatives, summarize references, refine technical explanations, draft slides, or prepare emails and reports. But when an inventor enters technical information into an external AI system, an important patent question arises: has the inventor just made a disclosure that could jeopardize patent rights? The answer is not always straightforward, but the risk is real and often underestimated. The issue is especially significant because U.S. law and non-U.S. law do not treat pre-filing disclosures the same way. Senior Patent Agent Samantha Page takes a look at what AI looks like related to patent issues.

For the last decade, securing patent protection for software inventions has been challenging. However, in recent months the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has signaled that restrictions on patenting software-based inventions may be easing. This may present an opportunity to industries such as Agritech that increasingly rely on software and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. IP attorney Patrick Torre discusses the opportunities for Agritech in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

As AI tools become embedded in daily business operations, organizations across all industries are beginning to ask a common question: Do we have an AI policy, and if not, where do we start? A practical approach to AI policy development begins with a clear understanding of current AI use and then turns to defining the organization’s desired approach to AI going forward. Intellectual Property attorney Mandy Decker takes a look at development of AI policies in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

A new wave of trademark phishing attacks is exploiting one of the most overlooked realities of federal trademark filings: nearly everything about an application is public. Using information pulled directly from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) records, scammers are sending highly convincing emails impersonating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The messages appear official, cite real application details, and demand participation in so-called “mandatory verification appointments” – a process that does not exist. Trademark attorney Donovan Gibbs takes a look at this issue in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.