Legal experts from across the nation discuss developments in the IP industry at the 2025 Intellectual Property Institute
Leaders in intellectual property law discussed major landmark cases, changing technology, developments in AI and more at the 2025 Intellectual Property Institute, hosted by USC Gould School of Law.
The two-day continuing legal education conference was held March 17-18 in person at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica.
Featured speakers included keynote presenter Jonathan Palmer, Corporate Vice President and General Counsel at Microsoft Corporation, Inc., and dozens of academics, IP lawyers, judges and other professionals.
In his keynote presentation, Palmer led an engaging discussion on the legal and regulatory headwinds and opportunities facing Microsoft and the larger technology industry over the next five years.
“There’s no question that when you have a general purpose technology that basically changes the way you do many many things, it is by definition disruptive, will affect labor markets, create new sectors and reduce the importance of other sectors,” said Palmer. “That’s a major headwind as a society, but it is also a huge opportunity. We feel a deep sense of accountability to bring technology to the world in a responsible way.”
The first day of the institute began with the AI for IP Workshop. During the three sessions, legal and technology experts explored the intersection of artificial intelligence and intellectual property law, addressing case law, licensing and the impact of AI on legal practice.
“California is usually the state that leads the way in innovative laws,” said Lyric Kaplan, Lead AI Product Counsel at Snap. “Just last year, there were 47 AI-related bills proposed that were very focused on specific subject matter, and out of those 47, 16 reached the governor’s desk and 13 became law.”
The second day of the Institute opened with sessions covering building better teams and notable developments in foreign IP law.
“Litigation for patents and potentially other IP rights in Europe is still evolving, and it’s expanding,” said Chris de Mauny, Partner at Bird & Bird. “The UPC and the European Court of Justice are not looking at their jurisdiction in a limited, confined way — they are going to continue pushing the boundaries of their jurisdiction as people file more cases and test the boundaries more and more before them.”
The Judges’ Panel included insights by judges from the Central and Southern Districts of California, along with guest judges from Nevada and Texas.
“There is a complete lack of transparency as to how material is created by AI. As judges we need transparency — you need to be able to ask an inventor where an idea came from and evaluate the answer,” said Hon. Richard Franklin Boulware II of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. “I think this is going to present a real issue in intellectual property cases, whether it’s patent eligibility, copyright or trademark.”
Throughout the Institute, attendees chose between concurrent breakout sessions covering copyright, patent and trademark law. Panels explored issues including copyright monetization, patent litigation funding and trademark enforcement strategies.
The event closed with the popular annual session, “The IP Year in Review: Patent, Trademark and Right of Publicity, and Copyright,” presented by Prof. Dennis Crouch of the University of Missouri School of Law, Prof. Mark McKenna of UCLA School of Law, and Prof. Tyler Ochoa of Santa Clara University School of Law, who discussed the most significant cases in each segment of IP law in the past year.
Renowned as the premier gathering of top IP experts, the USC Gould School of Law Intellectual Property Institute stands as a flagship conference hosted by a top-rated law school in Southern California. Drawing in a diverse array of industry leaders, both local and international, the event provides a critical platform for navigating the dynamic shifts shaping the intellectual property landscape.
USC Gould School of Law offers continuing legal education opportunities for professionals who want to learn and network with leading experts in their industries. A fixture of the Los Angeles legal community since 1948, USC Gould Continuing Legal Education hosts six annual conferences for professionals at every level to learn from, and network with, the biggest players in entertainment, estate planning, business, tax and intellectual property. To learn more, visit or subscribe at gould.usc.edu/cle – and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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