Partner Sal Anastasi, chair of Barley Snyder’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, and member of a US delegation from the American Intellectual Property Association (AIPLA) presented on topics related to Artificial Intelligence and New and Emerging Technologies at the Industry IP5 and IP5 Heads of Offices meetings held in Incheon, South Korea last week from June 10-13, 2019. The Industry IP5 and IP5 Heads meet each year in a joint effort to harmonize the world’s patenting systems.
The Industry IP5 is considered one of the most influential organizations in IP system development, consisting of the world’s top five intellectual property offices – American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Intellectual Property Owners, Inc. (IPO), Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA), Korean Intellectual Property Association (KINPA) and the Patent Protection Association of China (PPAC). As a member of the Patent Harmonization Committee of the AIPLA, Anastasi presented on both the usefulness of AI in the profession and on substantive issues in patenting AI that will arise as new and emerging technologies continue to develop.
During the IP5 Heads meeting, the Patent Offices reported on the efforts of the five IP offices over the past year including pendency, work sharing, improvement of IP5 cooperation mechanism and procedures, AI, new and emerging technologies and the Patent Harmonization Experts Panel. The Industry IP5 also discussed its goals of improving patent information access and assessing the impact of AI. Anastasi presented in roundtable discussions between industry and the heads of offices on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other New and Emerging Technologies (NET) on patent practice.
AIPLA representatives, including Anastasi, also met with members of the Industry Trilateral (IT3) during that same week to discuss patent harmonization. The IT3 consists of the AIPLA, Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), Business Europe (BE) and Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA). The attendees honed in on key topics regarding international patent harmonization such as grace period, conflicting applications and prior use rights. The IT3 meeting resulted in meaningful discussions and progress, but as the AIPLA reports, there is still work to be done.
Salvatore Anastasi is the chair of Barley Snyder’s Intellectual Property Law Group. He counsels clients on all aspects of domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution as well as intellectual property litigation. He can be reached at (610) 722-3899 or at sanastasi@barley.com.
