Agenda
Subject to change. CLE panels are designated by an asterisk after the panel title.
Monday, Jun 8, 2026
8:29 AM ET
9:00 AM ET
The Patent Landscape in 2026: Forces, Friction, and Strategic Consequences
This panel conversation will provide a strategic briefing about what has actually changed—and what those changes mean in practice. The discussion will examine evolving practices inside the USPTO, emerging dynamics at the PTAB, doctrinal trends at the Federal Circuit, changing litigation economics in the district courts, the continuing role of the ITC as an enforcement forum, and what—if anything—Congress is likely to do.
András Jókúti
This panel conversation will provide a strategic briefing about what has actually changed—and what those changes mean in practice. The discussion will examine evolving practices inside the USPTO, emerging dynamics at the PTAB, doctrinal trends at the Federal Circuit, changing litigation economics in the district courts, the continuing role of the ITC as an enforcement forum, and what—if anything—Congress is likely to do.
,10:00 AM ET
10:30 AM ET
Turning Innovation into Assets: Building a Scalable IP Pipeline
R&D investment does not create value on its own. Value is realized only when organizations systematically identify, evaluate, and convert technical work into durable intellectual property aligned with business strategy. Panelists will begin by examining how leading organizations operationalize invention harvesting as a core business process. We will then take the next step and tackle the critical downstream decision about how to choose the right protection strategy to convert the identified potential IP assets into actual IP assets that have a value.
Arash Behravesh
Tom Holsten
Matt Marrone
R&D investment does not create value on its own. Value is realized only when organizations systematically identify, evaluate, and convert technical work into durable intellectual property aligned with business strategy. Panelists will begin by examining how leading organizations operationalize invention harvesting as a core business process. We will then take the next step and tackle the critical downstream decision about how to choose the right protection strategy to convert the identified potential IP assets into actual IP assets that have a value.
,11:30 AM ET
12:00 PM ET
Portfolio Intelligence: Using Data to Drive Patent Strategy
This panel focuses on how in-house teams use portfolio taxonomy, competitive landscape analysis, and internal and external data to inform strategy. Panelists will discuss how to map portfolios against competitors, identify gaps and areas of overinvestment, and use landscape insights to guide filing strategy and resource allocation. The discussion will also explore how analytics are used to support critical decisions across the portfolio lifecycle—from prioritizing invention disclosures to evaluating portfolio strength and identifying areas for strategic focus.
This panel focuses on how in-house teams use portfolio taxonomy, competitive landscape analysis, and internal and external data to inform strategy. Panelists will discuss how to map portfolios against competitors, identify gaps and areas of overinvestment, and use landscape insights to guide filing strategy and resource allocation. The discussion will also explore how analytics are used to support critical decisions across the portfolio lifecycle—from prioritizing invention disclosures to evaluating portfolio strength and identifying areas for strategic focus.
,1:00 PM ET
2:00 PM ET
The AI Pricing Illusion: Commodity Patents vs. Strategic Assets
If AI enhances quality but does not proportionally reduce cost, where is the value created—and who captures it? This panel will confront that tension directly. Panelists will distinguish between theoretical efficiency gains and measurable cost savings, and examine whether “shared savings” models reflect economic reality or wishful thinking. The discussion will explore how pricing expectations are evolving, how law firms are adapting their economic models, and how in-house teams are evaluating value in an environment where the cost of production is increasingly opaque.
Ratib Ali
Salumeh Ramsay
If AI enhances quality but does not proportionally reduce cost, where is the value created—and who captures it? This panel will confront that tension directly. Panelists will distinguish between theoretical efficiency gains and measurable cost savings, and examine whether “shared savings” models reflect economic reality or wishful thinking. The discussion will explore how pricing expectations are evolving, how law firms are adapting their economic models, and how in-house teams are evaluating value in an environment where the cost of production is increasingly opaque.
,3:00 PM ET
3:30 PM ET
Building Transaction-Ready Patents: Quality, Structure, and Strategic Fit
Panelists will explore how to draft and prosecute patents that are transaction-ready from inception. Topics will include aligning claims with identifiable revenue streams, building specifications that support durable claim scope, structuring continuation strategies to preserve flexibility without creating estoppel or laches exposure, and managing prosecution statements to avoid impairing future damages theories. The discussion will also address how to coordinate global filings to maximize enforcement leverage and how to avoid defects that routinely surface during diligence.
Shawn Gorman
Louisa Salomon
Panelists will explore how to draft and prosecute patents that are transaction-ready from inception. Topics will include aligning claims with identifiable revenue streams, building specifications that support durable claim scope, structuring continuation strategies to preserve flexibility without creating estoppel or laches exposure, and managing prosecution statements to avoid impairing future damages theories. The discussion will also address how to coordinate global filings to maximize enforcement leverage and how to avoid defects that routinely surface during diligence.
,4:30 PM ET
5:00 PM ET
Patent Portfolio Triage: Killing Zombie Patents and Enforcing Discipline
The problem is often acute—zombie patents that are functionally dead still drain resources long past their useful life. The result is a portfolio that is large on paper but thin in terms of strategic relevance. The goal of this session is to provide a clear, execution-ready framework for turning patent portfolios into managed assets that support business objectives, rather than cost centers that persist by default.
Bennett David
The problem is often acute—zombie patents that are functionally dead still drain resources long past their useful life. The result is a portfolio that is large on paper but thin in terms of strategic relevance. The goal of this session is to provide a clear, execution-ready framework for turning patent portfolios into managed assets that support business objectives, rather than cost centers that persist by default.
,6:00 PM ET
Cocktail Reception
Join us from 6:00pm to 8:00pm to network over beer, wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Join us from 6:00pm to 8:00pm to network over beer, wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
,Tuesday, Jun 9, 2026
8:30 AM ET
9:00 AM ET
Allowance Strategies That Move the Needle with Examiners
This panel takes the next steps beyond exercising financial discipline in pursuit of valuable, high-quality assets. Our conversation now moves into prosecution tactics that will increase allowance rates and improve outcomes. We will deliver a pragmatic discussion of examiner data, institutional pressures, and decision-making patterns. Panelists will distinguish between tactical wins on a single case and scalable strategies that improve allowance rates across an entire portfolio.
John Rogitz
Runa Shah-Qaderi
This panel takes the next steps beyond exercising financial discipline in pursuit of valuable, high-quality assets. Our conversation now moves into prosecution tactics that will increase allowance rates and improve outcomes. We will deliver a pragmatic discussion of examiner data, institutional pressures, and decision-making patterns. Panelists will distinguish between tactical wins on a single case and scalable strategies that improve allowance rates across an entire portfolio.
,10:00 AM ET
10:30 AM ET
Reconsidering Ex Parte Appeals: Best Practices, Strategy, Timing and Winning
This panel will examine when and why applicants should consider appealing rather than continuing to cycle through amendments and RCEs. Panelists will discuss strategic decision points during prosecution, how to evaluate whether a case is appeal-ready, and how appeal practice can influence examiner behavior and portfolio outcomes. The discussion will also cover practical best practices for briefing appeals, building a persuasive record, addressing common examiner arguments, and positioning cases for success before the Board.
Clint Mehall
This panel will examine when and why applicants should consider appealing rather than continuing to cycle through amendments and RCEs. Panelists will discuss strategic decision points during prosecution, how to evaluate whether a case is appeal-ready, and how appeal practice can influence examiner behavior and portfolio outcomes. The discussion will also cover practical best practices for briefing appeals, building a persuasive record, addressing common examiner arguments, and positioning cases for success before the Board.
,11:30 AM ET
12:00 PM ET
Unlocking Patent Portfolio Value: Activating the Portfolio You Already Own
Monetization does not start with a licensing or enforcement strategy—it starts with understanding what you own. This panel will focus on how to transform existing patent portfolios from static cost centers into actively managed business assets that generate measurable return. Panelist will discuss the foundational work required before any monetization effort can begin. They will examine how organizations impose structure on existing portfolios through disciplined taxonomy, data normalization, and portfolio segmentation—creating visibility into technology coverage, ownership, and competitive relevance.
Noel Egnatios
Monetization does not start with a licensing or enforcement strategy—it starts with understanding what you own. This panel will focus on how to transform existing patent portfolios from static cost centers into actively managed business assets that generate measurable return. Panelist will discuss the foundational work required before any monetization effort can begin. They will examine how organizations impose structure on existing portfolios through disciplined taxonomy, data normalization, and portfolio segmentation—creating visibility into technology coverage, ownership, and competitive relevance.
,1:00 PM ET
2:00 PM ET
Turning Patents into Revenue: Building Successful Enforcement-Driven Monetization Campaigns
This panel assumes that the foundational work of organizing and understanding the portfolio has already been completed. Panelists will examine how patent owners translate structured assets into revenue through licensing programs that if unsuccessful will mature into enforcement campaigns. The discussion will cover the mechanics of building a credible monetization thesis, including development of evidence of use, claim mapping, the construction of licensing narratives, and portfolio positioning that can withstand diligence by operating companies, investors, and litigation finance providers.
Dean Geibel
Phil Goter
This panel assumes that the foundational work of organizing and understanding the portfolio has already been completed. Panelists will examine how patent owners translate structured assets into revenue through licensing programs that if unsuccessful will mature into enforcement campaigns. The discussion will cover the mechanics of building a credible monetization thesis, including development of evidence of use, claim mapping, the construction of licensing narratives, and portfolio positioning that can withstand diligence by operating companies, investors, and litigation finance providers.
,3:00 PM ET
3:30 PM ET
Experts, Rule 702 and the Future of Patent Damages
This panel will examine how evolving Rule 702 standards are changing the role of economic experts in patent litigation. Panelists will discuss practical implications for litigators, including how to evaluate damages theories grounded in economic science, how to prepare experts for Daubert scrutiny, and how courts are approaching issues such as causation, apportionment, license comparability, but-for pricing, and returns to research and development.
Mark Nelson
Jon Putnam
This panel will examine how evolving Rule 702 standards are changing the role of economic experts in patent litigation. Panelists will discuss practical implications for litigators, including how to evaluate damages theories grounded in economic science, how to prepare experts for Daubert scrutiny, and how courts are approaching issues such as causation, apportionment, license comparability, but-for pricing, and returns to research and development.
,4:30 PM ET
5:00 PM ET
Using AI in Patent Litigation: Tools, Tactics and Risks
Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty in patent litigation—it is quickly becoming a competitive differentiator. The real question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to deploy it in ways that drive measurable litigation advantage without creating unintended risk. Despite growing adoption, most practitioners are still operating without a clear framework for where AI delivers value, where…
Thomas Bejin
Joshua Hartman
Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty in patent litigation—it is quickly becoming a competitive differentiator. The real question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to deploy it in ways that drive measurable litigation advantage without creating unintended risk. Despite growing adoption, most practitioners are still operating without a clear framework for where AI delivers value, where…
,6:00 PM ET
Cocktail Reception
Join us from 6:00pm to 8:00pm to network over beer, wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Join us from 6:00pm to 8:00pm to network over beer, wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
,Wednesday, Jun 10, 2026
8:30 AM ET
9:00 AM ET
Patent Eligibility Today: Practical Strategies in an Unstable Framework
This panel will begin by discussing recent case law and USPTO guidance relating to 101. We will then move beyond summaries and into what actually working in practice in light of where the industry is today. Panelists will examine how eligibility is being applied by patent examiners today, where examination trends are stabilizing, and where unpredictability remains. The discussion will also address the growing divergence between prosecution outcomes and litigation risk—and how to draft and prosecute applications that can survive both the USPTO and the federal courts.
This panel will begin by discussing recent case law and USPTO guidance relating to 101. We will then move beyond summaries and into what actually working in practice in light of where the industry is today. Panelists will examine how eligibility is being applied by patent examiners today, where examination trends are stabilizing, and where unpredictability remains. The discussion will also address the growing divergence between prosecution outcomes and litigation risk—and how to draft and prosecute applications that can survive both the USPTO and the federal courts.
,10:00 AM ET
10:30 AM ET
Choosing the Battlefield: Venue Strategy in Patent Litigation
This panel will examine how sophisticated litigants approach venue selection in today’s environment. Panelists will explore the relative advantages and trade-offs among leading districts. The discussion will focus on the practical calculus behind filing decisions, including docket speed, likelihood of transfer, judicial tendencies on dispositive motions—particularly under Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International—jury dynamics, and historical plaintiff success rates.
David Gosse
This panel will examine how sophisticated litigants approach venue selection in today’s environment. Panelists will explore the relative advantages and trade-offs among leading districts. The discussion will focus on the practical calculus behind filing decisions, including docket speed, likelihood of transfer, judicial tendencies on dispositive motions—particularly under Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International—jury dynamics, and historical plaintiff success rates.
,11:30 AM ET
12:00 PM ET
End-Runs and Endless Challenges: Fighting for Real Patent Rights
The real story today is not just about what is happening at the PTAB—it is how the cycle of challenges to patents never ends. Against this backdrop, this panel will examine whether the system can be restructured to deliver both fairness and finality. Panelists will address the current state of discretionary denial practice, what can realistically be inferred from instituted cases, and the proposed “one-and-done” rules package as a potential framework for limiting the multiplicity of challenges. The discussion will also confront the growing use of reexamination as a procedural end-run and explore what guardrails the USPTO can—and should—implement to install integrity to the post-grant system.
Stephen T. Schreiner
The real story today is not just about what is happening at the PTAB—it is how the cycle of challenges to patents never ends. Against this backdrop, this panel will examine whether the system can be restructured to deliver both fairness and finality. Panelists will address the current state of discretionary denial practice, what can realistically be inferred from instituted cases, and the proposed “one-and-done” rules package as a potential framework for limiting the multiplicity of challenges. The discussion will also confront the growing use of reexamination as a procedural end-run and explore what guardrails the USPTO can—and should—implement to install integrity to the post-grant system.
,1:00 PM ET
2:00 PM ET
Building the Next Patent System: A Blueprint for U.S. Innovation
This panel will move beyond narrow debates over pending legislation, individual USPTO rules packages, and the latest swings in PTAB policy. Instead, it will ask the larger structural question: if the United States were undertaking a serious modernization of patent law today—akin to the reforms embodied in the 1952 Patent Act—what should be changed? The discussion will examine the foundational legal and institutional reforms necessary to create a system that is fairer, faster, more predictable, and better suited for the 21st century innovation economy. The objective is not incremental tinkering around the edges. It is to begin defining the principles of a modern patent system that actually works for innovators, startups, universities, investors, established companies, and the public.
Hon. Pauline Newman
Gene Quinn
Colin Sandercock
Hon. Randall R. Rader
This panel will move beyond narrow debates over pending legislation, individual USPTO rules packages, and the latest swings in PTAB policy. Instead, it will ask the larger structural question: if the United States were undertaking a serious modernization of patent law today—akin to the reforms embodied in the 1952 Patent Act—what should be changed? The discussion will examine the foundational legal and institutional reforms necessary to create a system that is fairer, faster, more predictable, and better suited for the 21st century innovation economy. The objective is not incremental tinkering around the edges. It is to begin defining the principles of a modern patent system that actually works for innovators, startups, universities, investors, established companies, and the public.
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