Partner Jennifer Maisel will participate on the panel "Patents and Trade Secrets: AI Innovation Protection Strategies" at the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) Artificial Intelligence Law 2026 event taking place January 22-23, 2026, in New York, New York. Jen's panel will take place on Thursday, January 22.
AI-related patent applications continue to rise. But core parts of AI systems remain difficult to protect under patent eligibility rules, leading to an increase in trade secret-based protection strategies. A new case, OpenEvidence v. Pathway Medical, is testing the limits of what can be considered a trade secret while still keeping an AI system available for public use via an API. Jen's session provides cutting-edge guidance on protecting AI innovations through both patent and trade secret law. After completing this session, participants will have a greater understanding of:
- How the USPTO is examining AI-related claims, with concrete examples of claimable technical improvements and practical applications
- The strengths and limits of trade secret protection for weights, prompts, and model architectures
- Strategies for choosing between patent disclosure and trade secret protection based on technology type and competitive landscape
The AI landscape continues to evolve, and is impacting every aspect of law, industry, and legal practice. Today, understanding the latest technological and legal developments is essential to competent representation in all practice areas. In the midst of monumental shifts and uncertain terrain, PLI's Artificial Intelligence Law program has been carefully designed to help professionals to stay up-to-date with both the risks and opportunities, with a curriculum that marries the latest technological and legal developments with actionable legal and business insights. Attendees will leave the program with practical guidance on issues ranging from IP to agentic AI and AI governance to third-party vendor contracting.
To learn more about PLI's Artificial Intelligence Law 2026 program, and to register, please visit the event website.
