One Dispute, Many FRANDs: The Samsung–ZTE Dispute and the Fragmentation of Global SEP Licensing
Standard-essential patent disputes are no longer just national patent disputes. When products such as smartphones must comply with global telecommunications standards, the licensing fight often becomes worldwide.
Describing Use of a Genus: Teva V. Lilly Clarifies § 112 For Antibody Method Claims
Patent law requires more than showing that an invention is new and nonobvious. Under 35 U.S.C. § 112, a patent must also describe the invention in enough detail to show that the inventors possessed what they claimed and to teach skilled readers how to make and use it without undue experimentation. These requirements are known as written description and enablement.
Protecting Fashion in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making an impact in nearly every industry. The impact of AI on the creative arts has been particularly complex and controversial. In the world of fashion, significant resources may be devoted to identifying consumer needs and designing new products by both small independent brands and large corporations. However, there is a rise in AI-powered algorithms to track, reverse engineer, and mass-reproduce fashion artists' works, producing similar products without incurring the overhead costs of design and marketing. Protecting creators from fashion product copying has therefore risen in complexity with associated costs that can present significant challenges to brands that may already have their resources constrained.
The New EPO Guidelines for Examination and Their Main Implications for Applicants
A new version of the Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (EPO) entered into force on 1 April 2026. Among the changes introduced in this edition, we draw our readers' attention to those with the most significant implications for applicants (and, conversely, for opponents). These implications stem from a closer alignment of the Guidelines—and therefore of expected examination practice—with the case law of the Enlarged Board of Appeal.
Archived Evidence from Wayback Machine and Prior Art Determinations for Printed Publications
In a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the appellate court affirmed the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board's final written decision that IPR petitioner Keysight had provided sufficient evidence that Centripetal's patent claims were anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102 by a printed publication that was publicly available before the priority date of the patent. The proceedings involved commonly recurring issues relating to proving public accessibility of printed publications, including use of Wayback Machine® to provide time-stamped proof of such public accessibility. Ultimately, the Federal Circuit emphasized that a person of ordinary skill in the art ("POSITA"), with diligent effort, would have found the publicly available prior art reference since the reference was related to technical documentation from vendors in the technical field and was publicly available as supported by the Wayback Machine® archived evidence.
The White House Looks to the Future of Artificial Intelligence in the US
Though AI legislation in the US remains nascent, the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations have all voiced opinions on what the future of AI should look like in the US. The Trump administration's AI-directed communications recently culminated in the release of "A National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence" (the Framework). The Framework is a continuation of the December 2025 Executive Order "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence" (the Executive Order) and advocates for many of the same priorities. Unlike the Executive Order, however, the Framework includes clear Congressional calls to action, addresses intellectual property rights, and proposes strategies for enabling innovation.
Bahrain Eases Document Submission Deadlines for Industrial Property Applications
The Bahraini Ministry of Industry and Commerce has implemented temporary measures to address ongoing difficulties in completing notarization and legalization procedures, as well as delays in submitting required documents within statutory deadlines.
Are Your AI Prompts Discoverable? Recent Cases Every Company and Law Firm Should Know
Are your ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini prompts and responses safe from discovery? Recent decisions shed light on the issue to reveal when your AI chat history can be targeted in discovery and when it remains off-limits. How current rules are being applied to frontier generative AI and what every company, in-house counsel, and law firm must do to avoid an AI discovery disaster.
ASAP!: USPTO seeks participants for six-month old AI Search Pilot
With less than one month remaining in the original Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) that began on October 20, 2025, the USPTO announced key modifications with respect to timing and fees.
Do Not Let Unclaimed Functions Compromise Your Means-Plus-Function Analysis
In a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the appellate court reversed a trial court's finding that a patent claim was invalid for indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). The decision emphasizes that when construing means-plus-function claims, courts must focus strictly on structures that perform the claimed function, without disqualifying them for failing to handle unclaimed tasks mentioned in the specification.
