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We Need a More Permanent Solution to Inter Partes Review Overreach
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires stated in his Senate confirmation hearing last year that “with born strong patents and robust quality marks we can reclaim America’s primacy, revitalize industry and growth, proudly export our culture, boost national security and improve our lives.” If the goal is to have “born strong patents”, we must be honest about what is born with patents and what is not. For instance, a credible mark of novelty is born with every patent—that much is clear. However, novelty is not just technical newness—it is also market impression. If novelty were only technical newness, people would own patents without their technology ever being used in the market. There would be no point to the patent system. This means that the rest of patents—their assertion power, damages recovery power, term limitation, claim bundling provision, inter partes review (IPR) fee requirement, and more—must also be part of the birth. This is how to create born strong patents.
John Powers
5 hours ago
0
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The Supreme Court Must Revisit Prosecution Laches—And the Industry Should Speak Up
The latest chapter in the long-running saga of inventor Gil Hyatt is beginning to unfold. The current fight is over prosecution laches—and whether the doctrine even exists. In his last appeal to the Federal Circuit, Hyatt argued that prosecution laches is not available in Section 145 proceedings because it is inconsistent with the Patent Act of 1952, as confirmed by recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2014) and SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products (2017). Whether Hyatt is correct about prosecution laches being inconsistent with the 1952 Patent Act, it is clear that the Supreme Court has unequivocally ruled in both Petrella and SCA that laches simply does not exist when there is a statutorily prescribed timeframe to act.
Gene Quinn
22 hours ago
1
Patent Prosecution in the AI-Native Future: How IP Counselors Can Succeed
As discussed in my prior article, the growing adoption and sophistication of assistive AI tools for patent prosecution are paving the way for material business and career impacts, such as decreased prosecution revenue and reduced staffing over the long term. Despite these potential risks, practitioners and enterprises may experience widely differing outcomes due to their client mix, expertise, and capacity to navigate shifting winds to advantage.
Carlo Cotrone
March 19, 2026, 12:15 PM
1
IP Innovators: Writer’s Block Is Dead: Drew McElligott on AI in Legal Practice
In the latest episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Drew McElligott, Counsel at Crowell & Moring, to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping legal workflows from the inside of a major law firm. While much of the conversation around AI focuses on disruption, McElligott offers a grounded, practitioner-driven perspective: one of the most immediate and impactful changes is how patent attorneys begin drafting. As AI tools become more integrated into legal practice, they are redefining the early stages of patent drafting and eliminating one of the most persistent challenges in writing: the blank page.
Francois-Xavier Leduc
March 19, 2026, 08:15 AM
0
Inside the PTAB Reset: Practical Fixes for a Reengineered PTAB | IPWatchdog Unleashed
In this episode of IPWatchdog Unleashed, I speak with Matt Johnson, Co-Chair of the PTAB Practice at Jones Day, and we take an in-depth look at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) nearly a decade and a half after its launch. Johnson and I discuss the ongoing PTAB reset at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and suggest practical fixes for a better, reengineered PTAB. The majority of the conversation is devoted to concrete, targeted reform suggestions that would lead to a better functioning PTAB and more streamlined IPR review system. Instead of abstract complaints, Johnson proposes narrowing PGR estoppel to encourage early challenges, moving IPR estoppel to the point of institution to eliminate gamesmanship, separating institution decisions from full merits adjudication to reduce confirmation bias, and rethinking quiet-title concepts to better align notice to implementers with settled expectations of patent owners.
Gene Quinn
February 3, 2026, 03:29 PM
2
Strengthening IP Enables Human Creativity and Economic Mobility | IPWatchdog Unleashed
In this week’s episode of IPWatchdog Unleashed, I speak with Megan Carpenter, who just recently stepped down as Dean of UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law after more than eight years. Our conversation was part personal journey and business philosophy together with a candid assessment of the IP ecosystem. We tackle emerging issues, including AI’s impact on legal practice and education. And we discuss the role of IP as essential to sustaining innovation in a rapidly evolving global economy, and fostering human creativity, innovation, and economic mobility.
Gene Quinn
January 27, 2026, 11:56 AM
1
Patent Reset: 2025’s Pivotal Moments and What Comes Next
As we wind down 2025 it is time to reflect on the year that was, and what the future will bring. This year was punctuated by a structural reset for the U.S. patent system. What unfolded was not just incremental reform, but a coordinated shift driven by leadership change, policy realignment, economic pressure, and accelerating adoption of AI—all converging to reshape how patents are examined, challenged, monetized, and managed. This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed we explore the monumental changes and the biggest trends that impacted the patent and innovation industry during 2025, and which will play an important role in defining 2026.
Gene Quinn
December 22, 2025, 04:05 PM
1
Thoughts on Finesse Wireless‘s Framing of Datascope as an ‘Infamous’ Example of Federal Circuit Overreach
In 2008, a medical device company I represented, Datascope Corporation, won a hard-fought victory at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That court reversed a verdict of patent infringement rendered by a federal jury in Baltimore in a suit brought by Johns Hopkins University and its licensee against my client. Johns Hopkins Univ. v. Datascope Corp., 543 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2008).
Roy Wepner
March 18, 2026, 02:06 PM
0
Delaware Court Denies Sony Subsidiary Summary Judgment in Cinemavault Trademark Dispute
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on Tuesday denied a motion for summary judgment in Cinemavault, Inc. v. Gameshow Network, LLC, allowing a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit to proceed to trial. Judge Joel H. Slomsky rejected Gameshow Network, LLC’s arguments that Cinemavault, Inc. failed to continuously use its trademark, that Cinemavault, Inc. was judicially estopped from bringing a likelihood of confusion claim, and that the relevant Lapp factors precluded Cinemavault from establishing a likelihood of confusion between the two marks at issue.
Rose Esfandiari
March 18, 2026, 09:15 AM
0
What They Don’t Teach You In School About Corporate Patent Monetization
Each year, companies invest significant financial resources building and maintaining patent portfolios. But instead of contributing to the bottom line, the patent portfolio often evolves into a growing cost center burdened by maintenance fees, prosecution expenses, and legal overhead. The patents protect some of the company’s products, and make nice plaques for the corporate hallways, but serve little other purpose. Patent monetization offers an opportunity to reverse this dynamic. Done correctly, it can transform dormant intellectual property into a durable revenue stream. Done poorly, it can create reputational risk, misaligned incentives, and wasted capital.
Michael Gulliford
March 18, 2026, 07:15 AM
7
Why PTAB Reform Alone Won’t Save the U.S. Patent System | IPWatchdog Unleashed
In the latest episode of IPWatchdog Unleashed, I sat down with my good friends Brad Close, who is the Executive Vice President of Transpacific IP, and Jim Carmichael, a former judge on the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and founder of Carmichael IP. Brad, Jim and I engaged in a candid conversation that provides our unvarnished assessment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where it started historically, where it is today, and where it may finally be headed. Bottom line: the PTAB is no longer the automatic execution squad it once was, but durable patent rights will require reform well beyond the agency level.
Gene Quinn
January 20, 2026, 09:58 AM
1
Pioneering AI Innovations and Legacy: A Conversation with Inventor Gil Hyatt / IPWatchdog Unleashed
This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, I sat down with prolific inventor Gil Hyatt, exploring his innovative journey and aspirations to leave a lasting legacy. One of the key highlights of the conversation was Gil’s creation of a non-profit Pioneering AI Foundation, which is aimed at advancing AI technology and bolstering U.S. economic interests. This non-profit organization is set to hold Gil’s substantial portfolio of AI patent applications, which cover his pioneering work dating back to the 1980s, and includes groundbreaking claims in artificial intelligence that could revolutionize sectors like education, manufacturing, and trade.
Gene Quinn
January 13, 2026, 02:15 PM
4
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Becoming a Patented Inventor: Behind the Scenes with Renee Quinn
This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, I sat down with my business and life partner, Renee Quinn. In addition to telling Renee’s story about how she found her way into the intellectual property world, and through our sometimes-comical banter, we together explore what it really takes to build, sustain, and continuously reinvent an entrepreneurial company like IPWatchdog. What emerged was a practical roadmap for entrepreneurship, invention, navigating platform risk, and focused on the necessity of constantly being ready to pivot as old business models start to show signs of age and ultimately falter. From Renee’s journey from IP outsider to patented inventor, to firsthand lessons learned navigating Amazon’s reseller ecosystem, the discussion highlights how intellectual property operates in the real world, not the classroom.
Gene Quinn
January 6, 2026, 02:15 PM
1
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