The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced the Automated Search Pilot Program, designed to give applicants early access to AI-generated prior art searches before substantive examination. Using an internal AI tool, the program identifies and ranks relevant prior art from U.S. and foreign patent databases, helping applicants anticipate potential issues and improve claim
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Two Consequential Rulings Find Fair Use Where Copyrighted Works Were Used to Train LLMs
The week of June 23, 2025 saw a flurry of high-impact decisions concerning copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). Two judges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued substantive decisions regarding fair use and generative AI model training. Both courts found fair use and that using copyrighted works to train large…
DC Circuit Holds That AI Systems Are Not “Authors” for Purposes of Copyright
As generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities advance, courts and the U.S. Copyright Office have grappled with the issue of who, or what—if anyone—owns the copyrights in works generated by AI systems. Fundamental questions have focused on whether copyright requires human authorship and, if so, whether works created solely through the use of AI possess sufficient…
Thomson Reuters Enter. Centre GmbH et al v. ROSS Intelligence Inc.
On February 11, 2025, the U.S. district court for the District of Delaware revised its own 2023 opinion and found on summary judgment that ROSS Intelligence’s (“Ross”) use of certain Westlaw “headnotes” to develop Ross’s AI-powered legal research tool constituted copyright infringement and not fair use. The court granted most of copyright owner Thomson Reuters’…
Courts and Legislators Addressing the Right of Publicity in the Age of AI
The creative promise of generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI or “AI”) is tremendous. Irrespective of artistic talent, any user can enter a text prompt into an AI tool and generate a new visual or audio work. Such AI tools also allow for the creation of outputs that impersonate the voice, image, or other likeness of individuals.…
Prosecution Pointer 413
The USPTO issued guidance to judicial Boards on holding parties responsible for the misuse of AI in legal proceedings. The guidance clarifies exiwsting rules and policies and discusses how to apply them when AI is used in the drafting of submissions to the PTAb and TTAB. A link to the guidance can be found here…
Prosecution Pointer 412
The USPTO issued inventorship guidance and examples for AI-assisted inventions. The guidance, which went into effect February 13, 2024, makes clear that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable. The guidance provides instructions to examiners and stakeholders on how to determine whether the human contribution to an innovation is significant enough to qualify for a patent…