India bets on human oversight to keep AI patent examination in check
August 12, 2026
| Freny Patel
India's Patent Office is embracing artificial intelligence to speed patent examination while reserving decisions for human officers, but rigorous verification could erode the efficiency gains that the technolo... (more story)
USPTO panel invites US Federal Circuit to revisit double-patenting doctrine
August 11, 2026
| Melissa Ritti
Precedent requires the US Patent and Trademark Office to apply obviousness-type double patenting based on a risk of multiple-owner harassment even in the absence of unjustified patent-term extension — but Dire... (more story)
India hotel ruling draws copyright line between access and commercial use
August 11, 2026
| Freny Patel
An Indian high court ruling draws a distinction between accessing licensed content and commercially exploiting it. The Calcutta High Court order, while limited to a single hotel, could potentially require hote... (more story)
Stewart exits USPTO as Squires pivots to AI, patent eligibility
August 07, 2026
| Nick Robertson
Former US Patent and Trademark Office Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart told MLex that she left the agency last week after concluding that Director John Squires wanted to focus the office's policy agenda on ... (more story)
Suno’s German court defeat tests Europe’s reach over US AI training
August 07, 2026
| Inbar Preiss
German music rights group GEMA’s win against Suno tests whether European right holders can use local courts to challenge AI training carried out abroad, and whether collecting societies can become copyright en... (more story)
Japan bets old personality rights can handle the AI clone era
August 07, 2026
| Toko Sekiguchi
Japan is betting that court-developed personality rights can govern AI voice and likeness cloning, avoiding a dedicated synthetic identity law while leaving difficult questions of commercial control and liability unresolved.
In search of future blockbusters, Big Pharma turns to psychedelics
August 06, 2026
| Steve Scherer
Eli Lilly's acquisition of AtaiBeckley last month signals that major drugmakers increasingly view psychedelics as a promising source of future psychiatric medicines and new patent-protected drug franchises.
Meta’s French injunction spotlights risks around negotiating power
August 06, 2026
| Jean Comte
Meta Platforms’ entanglement with French investigators last month shows the antitrust pitfalls for dominant companies in supplying data to partners on the other side of the negotiating table. Meta’s tactic of ... (more story)