United States IP law: Trends and key developments

The rules and laws that govern intellectual property continue to change and evolve. The panelists will consider the impact of last year's trends and identify recent developments that deserve attention. Important trends involving copyright applicable to software, trade secret misappropriation, pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, and the rise and fall of the Western District of Texas as a litigation forum are reshaping litigation and the procurement of IP rights. These trends are affecting both the enforcement and management of IP rights in the United States.

The USPTO, led by Kathi Vidal, is actively addressing PTAB procedures, the role of AI in patents and, to the extent it can, patent eligible subject matter and guidelines for computer-implemented inventions. Meanwhile, it was a quiet year at the United States Supreme Court, though the silence of the court in deciding not to reconsider patentable subject matter in the American Axle case was disappointing, if not surprising. Nonetheless, the upcoming year has the potential to bring fundamental questions regarding patent law before the court, particularly for written description and enablement.

The panelists, comprised of White & Case patent lawyers, will discuss recent IP events and trends and their impact on IP practice. They will also discuss how these trends may play out and how we can adjust our strategies for prosecution, litigation and portfolio development to take advantage of these changes.

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