Imagine That IP Law Blog

More than decade after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014), the question of what makes a software invention patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 remains one of the most unsettled areas of U.S. patent law. The Alice framework, which built on the earlier Supreme Court ruling in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), purported to prevent monopolization of “abstract ideas” through generic computer implementation. However, that decision has since spawned a complex and ... Read More ›

Attorney-client privilege is a longstanding and foundational legal doctrine. This privilege is meant to promote open communication between attorneys and their clients. Therefore, it not only protects the legal advice given by an attorney, but also the information from a client. This open communication enables attorneys to give informed and sound legal advice. Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 390 (1981). For a communication to be protected by the attorney-client privilege, it needs to be confidential, it must be between the attorney and the client, and it must be for the ... Read More ›

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing its presence in the arts, creating what many consider a "Napster moment" for the entertainment industry. For the past few years, the vocal likenesses of public figures and artists have been used to generate highly realistic synthetic audio. This technological shift places immense power in the hands of everyday users, challenging our traditional understanding of originality and raising a pressing question for artists and citizens alike: Can AI legally copy my voice?

While the technology exists to replicate your voice with ... Read More ›

Startups entering defense-adjacent markets face a different environment from traditional Government contracting. Many technologies that have application in defense contexts are created or refined in commercial markets while later being adapted for military use. Artificial intelligence, drones, and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are just a few examples. The Department of Defense (DoD) is betting heavily on this model. Recent Defense awards to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI to accelerate AI adoption across national security missions reflect a broader ... Read More ›

Prior art searching is an important, but very time-consuming, part of the patent process. An applicant may optionally choose to run its own prior art search prior to filing an application. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will conduct its search later, during substantive examination. The result is that truly relevant art may surfaces only months or years have passed, when claim scope is already in motion and prosecution strategy is underway.

To help address this timing gap, the USPTO launched the Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot ... Read More ›

For companies seeking patent protection in Germany, timing can be critical. An applicant may want rights in place quickly to strengthen its position against competitors, support licensing or investment discussions, or prepare for possible enforcement. But the fastest route is not always the same as the strongest or broadest form of protection. In Germany, applicants can choose among several options that balance speed, cost, and claim scope in different ways. In many cases, the most effective strategy is to combine short-term protection with a longer-term examined patent ... Read More ›

Standards do not just happen. They are built line-by-line and meeting-by-meeting through the efforts of many stakeholders including engineers, researchers, and companies that show up and do the work required to develop a standard. In many industries, including wireless and cellular communications, standards development can shape entire markets. It influences interoperability, device and network roadmaps, certification expectations, and the technical direction of the ecosystem.

The challenge is that meaningful participation in standards development organizations ... Read More ›

Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (“SMEDs”) are declarations submitted under 37 C.F.R. § 1.132 to place factual evidence into the record when responding to a § 101 subject matter eligibility rejection.  On December 4, 2025, the USPTO Director issued a memorandum highlighting SMEDs as a tool for eligibility disputes, particularly where the analysis may turn on technical facts like the state of the art, how a person of ordinary skill in the art would read the specification, or whether the claims reflect a technological improvement. The memorandum does not change § 101 ... Read More ›

Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI), as applied during USPTO examination, is often described as a “broad” claim construction standard. That description is accurate as far as it goes, but it is incomplete in a way that routinely drives avoidable disputes in prosecution. The controlling point is the one many applicants quote back to the Office: “The broadest reasonable interpretation does not mean the broadest possible interpretation.” MPEP § 2111. The difference between “reasonable” and “possible” is where the Person Of Ordinary Skill in Art (POSITA ... Read More ›

Introduction: The Paradox of “Free” Software

Open-source software (OSS) is the paradoxical infrastructure of the modern economy. It is frequently “free” in price, yet indispensable in value. Cloud computing, container orchestration, continuous integration pipelines, and AI development environments are routinely built on OSS stacks such as Kubernetes and Docker. The economic consequence is straightforward. OSS compresses development timelines, reduces vendor lock-in, and enables companies to scale products without recreating foundational tooling. That ... Read More ›