John Rogitz

On April 30, 2026, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires issued an updated memorandum on Best Practices for Submission of Rule 132 Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs), “superseding” the December 4, 2025, memos that launched the current iteration of the SMED program. While the April 30 memo introduces no substantive changes to the underlying framework — the principles of the original SMED Examiner Memo, the relevant Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) provisions, and the Alice/Mayo two-step analysis all remain — the update matters to practitioners for at least two reasons: it confirms that SMEDs are actually working, and it signals that the Office intends to refine the guidance over time as practitioners gain more experience with the tool.

Welcome back to Cool AI Patents of the Month, where we highlight innovations that blur the line between science fiction and real-world engineering. Last month, we looked at AI-generated voice replicas, particularly in sports broadcasting. That concept is no longer theoretical. Major League Baseball players have reportedly entered into agreements enabling the creation of AI-driven digital avatars, allowing fans to engage directly with AI-generated versions of their favorite players. The takeaway is clear: personality and likeness are being productized. What once seemed futuristic is quickly becoming commercially relevant.

Welcome back to Cool AI Patents of the Month, where we spotlight inventive developments at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property. In this installment, we take a look at two standout innovations—one that could transform how we watch sports, and another that may reshape how our vehicles understand the road ahead. Both illustrate how quickly AI is integrating itself into our daily lives.

Welcome to the very first installment of Cool AI Patents of the Month. Each month, we’ll look at some of the more eye-catching and creative ways Artificial Intelligence (AI) is showing up in innovations that themselves wind up represented in patents or patent applications. The goal isn’t to get overly technical, but to highlight technology that’s genuinely cool and thought-provoking — the kind of inventions that make you say, “Wow, that’s clever.”

In Ex parte Desjardins, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Appeals Review Panel (ARP) – which in this instance included Director John A. Squires, Acting Commissioner Valencia Martin Wallace, and Vice Chief Judge Michael W. Kim – considered a claim directed to training machine learning models. This decision has already been celebrated by many in the IP community for the positive impact it could have for patent applicants and patentees, and indeed this was a great way for Director Squires to make his presence known straight out of the gate.