— Patents

Patent strategy

Building patent portfolios aligned with business objectives, freedom-to-operate analyses and due diligence. Generative artificial intelligence is becoming a permanent feature of companies' creative and inventive processes, raising a question that courts are still addressing inconsistently: who owns an output generated with the contribution of an AI system? WIPO and the EUIPO report a steady increase in requests for clarification on authorship, inventorship and the training of models on protected data. The UPC as Strategic Ground The Unified Patent Court is consolidating its position as the central forum for European patent litigation. Its local divisions — Milan first and foremost — are attracting high-value disputes, prompting companies to rethink their enforcement strategy, forum selection and patent portfolio on a European rather than national scale. This calls for an audit of the patent portfolio from a UPC perspective: assessing any remaining opt-outs, preparing cross-border actions and continuously monitoring the case law of the various local divisions.