Report of the Economic Survey

Join leading practitioners, in-house counsel, and academics at the 2026 Electronic and Computer Patent Law Summit in Chicago for a dynamic, one-day program focused on the most pressing issues shaping patent practice today. This timely event brings together diverse perspectives to explore evolving USPTO priorities, recent case law developments, emerging challenges in semiconductor innovation, and the growing intersection of privacy, data security, and patent strategy. The day culminates in a forward-looking AI panel addressing inventorship, responsible use, and practical implications for both private practice and in-house teams, making this summit an essential forum for staying ahead in a rapidly changing legal and technological landscape.

Agenda Summary

9:00 AM - Priorities of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Other Ongoing Efforts. Morning Kickoff & Industry Outlook

9:45 AM - In-House vs. Outside Counsel: Evidence from Patent Filing Decisions 

10:45 AM - BREAK

11:00 - IP Implications of Trade Wars and Industrial Policy in the Semiconductor Sector 

12:00 Noon - LUNCH

1:00 PM - Minds, Machines and Robots – Law and Ethics of Autonomous Systems

2:00 PM - BREAK

2:10 PM - Death of the IPR?

3:10 PM - BREAK

3:20 PM - AI Panel –AI inventorship; Responsible use of AI in the practice; Attorney training; Benefits/Pitfalls

5:10 PM - Networking Reception for all Attendees - Informal opportunity to connect with peers and speakers to close the day

VENUE

Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Chicago - Magnificent Mile
300 East Ohio St
Chicago, IL 60611, US

RESERVATION LINK:  https://book.passkey.com/event/51255220/owner/23768/landing 

Room Rate:  $289 + tax (18.9%) per night. Special rate expires May 25, 2026.

AIPLA does not contract with third party entities to book hotel accommodations.  Please use the link above or contact the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Chicago - Magnificent Mile - (312) 787-6100 and ask for the ECPLS rate.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Speakers

• Barnes, Dunstan

  McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP | Partner

  Dunstan H. Barnes practices in all areas of intellectual property law with an emphasis on protecting and analyzing design rights. His work in that area includes drafting and prosecuting design patent applications and conducting opinion work and due diligence investigations. In addition, drawing on his doctorate work in materials science and metallurgy, Dr. Barnes has considerable experience drafting and prosecuting utility patent applications across a range of technological fields and industries.
• Chen, Sylvia

  Google | Senior Counsel

  As Google Senior Counsel, Sylvia works with firms and vendors worldwide to shepherd Google's patent portfolio. Prior to getting acquired by Google in 2014 and refining their panel of US law firms, Sylvia was a patent attorney at Motorola. Before going in-house, Sylvia worked as an associate attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright). She inadvertently entered the legal field after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering and accepting a job at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sylvia enjoys coaching law students and is functionally illiterate in Mandarin Chinese.
• Davenport, Joshua

  Banner Witcoff | Principal Shareholder

  Mr. Davenport is a Principal Shareholder of Banner Witcoff, and well-known as a leader in generative AI. He has done numerous talks on generative AI issues, given interviews for multiple publications, serves on the Customer Advisory Board of Solve Intelligence, and even applies machine-learning modeling techniques outside work as co-host of a major college football podcast. As a practitioner, he represents clients in all aspects of intellectual property matters, including patent prosecution, litigation, and counseling. He is currently on faculty at Georgetown University Law Center as an Adjunct Professor.
• Falkoff, Michelle

  Northwestern Pritzker School of Law | Associate Dean and Professor of Law

  Michelle Falkoff is the Associate Dean of Legal Writing and Instruction and William M. Trumbull Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She received her law degree from Columbia Law School and practiced intellectual property litigation in Silicon Valley before returning to school to receive her Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
• Fano, Andrew

  Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering | Clinical Professor of Computer Science

  Andrew Fano is Clinical Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Director of the Northwestern MBAi program, a joint AI-focused MBA offered with the Kellogg School of Management.
• Ferraro, Matthew

  Crowell & Moring | Partner

  Matthew F. Ferraro is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Group, where he helps clients address complex regulatory matters at the intersection of advanced technology, national security, and crisis management. He advises leading organizations on high-impact matters related to artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, cyberattacks, domestic and international privacy compliance, internal investigations, foreign direct investment reviews, and high-stakes crises.
• Johns, Christopher

  Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP | Partner

  Chris Johns manages drafting, prosecuting, and appealing patent applications related to multiple fields, including electronics, software, telecommunications, manufacturing, business methods, and other fields. He works with domestic and international clients on patent strategy. Chris has also litigated patents in multiple fields, in front of the USPTO, district courts, and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Before joining Finnegan, Chris served as a USPTO patent examiner for nearly five years.
• Merkin, Joel

  GLS Capital | Managing Director

  Joel Merkin serves as a Managing Director at GLS Capital – one of the world’s largest private investment firms focused on litigation finance – where he is responsible for due diligence and monitoring of patent investments.
• Nair, Gayatry

  Conley Rose, P.C. | Principal

  Gayatry Nair is a Principal at Conley Rose, P.C., where she focuses on the preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign patent applications across a broad range of technologies, including computer science, electrical engineering, software, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and telecommunications. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law.
• Parker, Usha

  Perilla Knox & Hildebrandt | Partner

  Usha Parker is a Partner at Perilla Knox & Hildebrandt, where her work focuses on patent application drafting and all aspects of prosecution. Usha has drafted applications directed to wireless (cellular, V2X, satellite) communication systems, electronic circuits and interconnects, optical systems, automotive sensor and processing systems, medical and consumer devices, mechanical designs, and software. In addition, she has written numerous articles on different aspects of patent procurement, including strategies for addressing patentability-based (§ 101) rejections.
• Phelan, Ryan N.

  Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP | Partner

  Ryan N. Phelan is a registered U.S. patent attorney who counsels and works with clients in all areas of intellectual property (IP), with a focus on patents. As a former technology consultant with Accenture and with a background in computer science and engineering, Ryan has extensive experience in computer system, hardware, and software design, engineering, development and related technologies. He represents numerous startup and Fortune 500 clients with patent matters in technical areas and industries including artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomous vehicles, robotics, among others.
• Reilly, Greg

  Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent College of Law | Professor of Law

  Professor Reilly is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Intellectual Property Law Program at Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent College of Law, where his research and teaching focus on the intersection of patent law and federal courts, with particular emphasis on how institutions and decision makers resolve patent disputes. He graduated from Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Timothy B. Dyk of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit before spending five years litigating patent cases at Morrison & Foerster LLP. His scholarship has been published in the Boston University, Southern California, Washington University, and Notre Dame law reviews, among others.
• Schwartz, David L.

  Northwestern Pritzker School of Law | William G. and Virginia K. Karnes Research Professor of Law

  Professor Schwartz is the William G. and Virginia K. Karnes Research Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he focuses his teaching and research on intellectual property and patent law with a particular emphasis on empirical studies of patents. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 articles and co-authored a casebook on design law, and he serves as Co-Principal Investigator of the NSF-funded SCALES Open Knowledge Network, which works to improve transparency and accessibility of federal court records. Prior to entering academia, Professor Schwartz practiced patent law for over a decade, including as a partner at two IP boutique firms in Chicago.
• Thompson, Andrew

  EIP | Partner

  Andrew is a UK and European Patent Attorney who has spent 25 years working in the patent profession. His focus is on electronics, semiconductors and software. He was worked for various semiconductor and technology companies from around the world, from multinationals to start-ups. His practice covers patent drafting and prosecution, and litigation support. He also provides strategic IP advice, especially to start-ups and scale-ups. Andrew heads up EIP’s Ampliphy service, which offers strategic IP advice to companies in the electronics, semiconductor and photonics sectors. He also writes and presents regularly on IP developments in the semiconductor world, and has a particular interest in the impact of geopolitics on innovation and supply chains.

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