United States: Intellectual Property

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This comprehensive AI Reporter from Benesch's AI Commission examines the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence litigation, regulation, and business deployment. From intellectual property disputes involving major studios and AI music generators to state-level regulatory frameworks addressing data centers, employment practices, and consumer protection, the newsletter explores how courts, legislators, and policymakers are responding to AI's transformative impact.

Web3 does not make intellectual property law obsolete, but it changes how stakeholders create, license, distribute, and enforce IP rights across digital ecosystems. Organizations operating in this space must understand that owning a token does not include ownership of the underlying copyright or trademark rights.

Companies can strengthen their patent portfolios by anticipating potential disputes long before litigation arises. Marshall Gerstein partner Ryan Schermerhorn explains how patent prosecution, portfolio monitoring, and enforcement should function as interconnected parts of a unified strategy rather than isolated stages of the patent lifecycle.

Navigating the federal trademark registration process requires understanding key steps from initial filing through long-term maintenance. This comprehensive guide walks through USPTO requirements, potential obstacles like office actions and opposition proceedings, and the ongoing obligations trademark owners must fulfill to maintain their registrations.

Navigating the complex legal landscape of licensed video games requires careful attention to intellectual property rights, approval processes, and revenue structures. From understanding what's actually included in a license to planning for the end of a licensing term, game developers face unique challenges when adapting existing franchises that don't exist with original IP.

On May 15, 2026, a substantial revision of China’s Implementing Regulations of the Drug Administration Law (the Regulations or Implementing Regulations) took effect, introducing, among other items, a formal data protection framework. On the same day, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued the Implementing Measures for Drug Trial Data Protection (the Measures), giving operational effect to the Regulations’ data-protection article for the first time since China accepted the underlying obligation upon World Trade Organization (WTO) accession.

The Federal Circuit vacated a PTAB decision on patent obviousness, establishing that a provisional application must provide written description support for at least one published claim to qualify as prior art under its earlier filing date. This ruling clarifies the requirements for claiming priority from provisional applications and impacts how patent practitioners should approach provisional filing strategies.

Biocon Limited has commercially launched YESAFILI (aflibercept-jbvf), a biosimilar to Regeneron's EYLEA, in the United States following settlement agreements that lifted previous injunction barriers. This marks the second aflibercept biosimilar available in the U.S. market, entering a competitive landscape where patent litigation continues to shape biosimilar entry strategies. The launch follows a complex legal journey involving multiple jurisdictions and settlement negotiations that ultimately permitted ea

The Texas Business Court recently clarified who qualifies as an attorney when dealing with confidential and attorney's eyes only designations in discovery. In a case involving alleged trade secret misappropriation between rival transformer manufacturers, the court examined whether attorneys from India representing the plaintiff in other matters could access protected documents in the Texas state court case...

A Virginia federal court ruled that a company can still pursue trade secret claims even when a former employee never signed a nondisclosure agreement. The decision examines whether technical safeguards, access controls, and company policies can substitute for missing contractual protections in trade secret litigation.

Courts have escalated from warnings to enforcement on AI hallucinations in legal filings, with seven sanctions issued in the first six days of August 2026 alone. IP litigators face heightened exposure due to citation-heavy briefs, complex multi-factor tests, and cross-jurisdictional AI disclosure requirements that now include bar referrals for unverified AI-generated content.