IPWatchdog | Thanksgiving Feature

Every #thanksgivingweek IPWatchdog, Inc Editor-in-Chief Eileen McDermott curates a special post featuring reflections on what the IP community is thankful for. Here’s mine. You can read Eileen’s full post here: https://bit.ly/3rhn0Pa

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I am thankful for a rare consensus between pharma and tech – that patents rules governing artificial intelligence are sound. George Mason University – Antonin Scalia Law School Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy’s Virtual 2021 Annual Fall Conference focused on the interface between #artificialintelligence and #intellectualproperty.

Panelists from biopharma companies like Novartis and Genentech on one panel, and from Google on another, shared the view that current patent rules supported AI innovation. These two industries have vastly different business models and deeply divided views on patent law and policy. Those views had stumped #patenteligibility reform.

Had either side been dissatisfied with the status quo on AI, they could have lauded developments elsewhere, including recent ones in South Africa and Australia, as pointing the way forward here in the United States. Notably, they did not. Industry consensus gives the government guidance and the time and space to consult widely, as the USPTO has done on AI, and to make balanced and carefully considered adjustments where needed. That is as it should be.