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.

On April 16, 2026, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its Guidance on Streamlining Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Renewals (the “Guidance”) providing long awaited clarity on how permitting authorities can reduce administrative burdens in the Title V permitting program without comprising compliance with the Clean Air Act (“CAA”). The Guidance consolidates and reaffirms longstanding EPA policy, but does so in a way that more directly addresses persistent inefficiencies in the permit renewal process.