IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law

The Video Game AI Conundrum: Can Lawmakers Regulate AI Without Stifling Innovation? | IPWatchdog Unleashed

Gene Quinn — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 19:15:10 +0000

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, I spoke with Bijou Mgbojikwe, who serves as Senior Policy Counsel for the Entertainment Software Association. Our conversation examined the rapidly expanding intersection of artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and video game policy. The central challenge is that legislation often treats very different technologies and use cases as though they present the same risks. Mgbojikwe discussed the distinction between harmful deepfakes and digital replicas used in legitimate creative works, including films and video games. Those concepts can implicate different legal frameworks, including right-of-publicity laws, copyright, consumer-protection statutes, and the First Amendment. When lawmakers combine them through broad definitions that are intended to prevent fraud, for example, legislation aimed at deception or abuse can inadvertently reach fictional characters, realistic game environments, and other expressive content.

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Cancer Drug Patent Claims Upheld by CAFC

Rose Esfandiari — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:15:15 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision on Monday in Exelixis, Inc. v. MSN Laboratories Private Ltd., affirming a district court finding that certain patent claims covering a cancer treatment satisfy the written description requirement under 35 U.S.C. Section 112(a). The court also granted a motion to dismiss a separate portion of the appeal as moot and vacated the underlying district court judgment on that issue.

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Albright Moves Back to Private Practice After Leaving Texas Bench

Eileen McDermott — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:15:31 +0000

Former U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright of the Western District of Texas has returned to private practice as a partner in A&O Shearman’s IP litigation practice as of today. Albright announced in April that he would leave the Western Texas bench by the end of August. Nominated to the federal judiciary during the first Trump Administration, Judge Albright earned a reputation of thoughtfulness and fairness in the application of patent law among plaintiff- and defendant-side lawyers arguing in his courtroom

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TTI (RYOBI) is Seeking an Intellectual Property Counsel

JobOrtunities Help Wanted — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:15:36 +0000

TTI Consumer Power Tools, Inc., is seeking to fill an in-house Intellectual Property Counsel position located at its Anderson, South Carolina office. TTI CPT is a global leader in quality consumer and professional power tools and outdoor products, designing and developing products under brands including RYOBI and RIDGID.

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SpaceTime3D Gets Mixed Results at Federal Circuit in Pair of Appeals from Apple and Google IPRs

Eileen McDermott — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:51:38 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Monday handed SpaceTime3D, Inc. mixed results in two nonprecedential decisions involving graphical user interface patents challenged by Apple Inc. and Google LLC, with the outcomes turning largely on differences in the wording of related claims. In Apple Inc., Google LLC v. SpaceTime3D, Inc., the court affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision upholding claims 1-13 of U.S. Patent No. 8,881,048 but finding claims 14-18 obvious. In a separate appeal, SpaceTime3D, Inc. v. Apple Inc., Google LLC, the CAFC affirmed the Board’s determination that all challenged claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,304,654 and 9,696,868 were obvious.

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Computer, Automotive and Retail Industries Support Tesla’s Cert Petition Against USPTO’s Discretionary IPR Denials

Steve Brachmann — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:15:18 +0000

On Friday, an amicus brief was filed at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of major trade associations in the computer software, automotive, retail and other industries, urging the Court to grant Tesla’s petition for writ of certiorari following the denial of its petitions for inter partes review (IPR) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) challenging patent claims owned by self-driving technology company Granite Vehicle Ventures. The industry groups claim that the Court’s review is necessary to address so-called “patent trolls” and policies adopted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that effectively eliminate the use of IPRs to combat these allegedly bad actors.

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Federal Circuit Says Improper Venue Does Not Bar Ruling on Patent Eligibility

Rachel Mount — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 17:15:46 +0000

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a district court’s decision to dismiss a patent infringement suit on both improper venue and patent ineligibility grounds, holding that the district court was not required to stop its analysis after determining the venue was improper. The opinion was authored by Judge Prost.

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CAFC Finds No Jurisdiction Over T-Mobile Contract Dispute, Transfers Appeal to Fifth Circuit

Rose Esfandiari — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:15:07 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision Friday that it lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed by T-Mobile US, Inc. and T-Mobile USA, Inc. against KAIFI LLC arising from a dispute over a patent settlement agreement, transferring the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In T-Mobile US, Inc. v. KAIFI LLC, Circuit Judge Chen authored the opinion for a panel that included Circuit Judges Taranto and Schall, concluding that the underlying disagreement over settlement contract language did not necessarily raise a substantial question of patent law.

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How to Navigate the Brazilian PTO: Timelines and Fast-Track Strategies

Sonia Carlos Antonio — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:15:13 +0000

Brazil is one of the world's largest economies and one of the most important markets for companies seeking expansion in Latin America. However, many foreign applicants quickly discover that success before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial - INPI) requires more than simply filing an application. The Brazilian system combines procedural formalities, relatively long examination timelines, unique legal requirements, and several acceleration opportunities that are often overlooked by foreign applicants. Understanding these practical aspects can help businesses avoid unnecessary delays, reduce costs, and build stronger intellectual property portfolios.

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HG Law LLP is Seeking a Patent Agent/Patent Associate

JobOrtunities Help Wanted — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:15:13 +0000

HG Law LLP is seeking an experienced Patent Agent or Patent Attorney with a strong electrical engineering background to join its team in San Jose, CA. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 3 years of experience in patent preparation and prosecution, particularly in semiconductor technologies.

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USPTO Issues Its First AI-Predicated Discipline Order Involving Hallucinated Cites to Intrinsic Record

Alexandros Nikolaidis — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 18:15:54 +0000

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO’s) Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) posted a final order to its website on August 27, publicly reprimanding a California patent attorney for submitting a claim construction chart containing citations that generative AI invented — not to case law, but to the intrinsic record of the patent in suit. In re Brian E. Mitchell, Proceeding No. D2026-16, resolves by settlement. Mitchell executed the agreement on July 20, 2026, and the OED Director on July 21. Tricia Choe, Associate General Counsel for General Law, approved it on July 27 on delegated authority from Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director John A. Squires.

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Other Barks & Bites for Friday, August 28: CCIA Urges SCOTUS to Take Up ‘Patent Troll’ Case; Federal Circuit Transfers T-Mobile Contract Case to Fifth Circuit; and Another Drugmaker Challenge to IRA’s Negotiation Program Fails

Steve Brachmann — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 17:04:34 +0000

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the Fifth Circuit nixes an appeal lodged by PhRMA and other drugmaker industry organizations against the Medicare drug negotiation program under the Inflation Reduction Act; the Ninth Circuit finds that Boeing’s patent inventorship claims are not compulsory to Zunum Aero’s trade secret misappropriation case;

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CAFC Delivers Blow to Apple in Appeal of PTAB Disputes with Smart Mobile

Rose Esfandiari — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 19:49:51 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued two decisions today in related appeals arising from inter partes review (IPR) proceedings between Apple Inc. and Smart Mobile Technologies LLC. In the case, Apple Inc. v. Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, the CAFC affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) determination that Apple failed to prove certain claims of two Smart Mobile patents unpatentable as obvious, while vacating and remanding a separate portion of the same judgment that had found other claims obvious. In the companion appeal, the CAFC affirmed the PTAB’s decision rejecting Apple’s obviousness challenge to a third related patent. Circuit Judge Stark authored both opinions for a panel that included Circuit Judges Reyna and Hughes.

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Ninth Circuit Rejects Boeing’s Bid to Rehear Appeal of Trade Secret Loss

Eileen McDermott — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:15:17 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit yesterday rejected Boeing’s bid to revisit its August 2025 ruling in favor of electric-aircraft startup Zunum Aero, holding that Boeing’s patent-inventorship counterclaims did not strip the Ninth Circuit of jurisdiction over the trade secret dispute. The Ninth Circuit panel denied Boeing’s petition for panel rehearing after concluding that its patent counterclaims were “permissive” rather than “compulsory”, and therefore not subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

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Not Every AI Output Belongs in an IDS

Lana Akopyan — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:15:55 +0000

An AI interaction can give rise to a Rule 56 disclosure obligation. Not because AI was involved, but because of the information the interaction put before you. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has already drawn that line. Its April 2024 guidance says there is no general obligation to disclose that an AI tool was used; the duty is implicated when the use rises to the level of materiality under Rule 56(b). The trigger is materiality, not AI.

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