Inventors, former judge to confront patent system at D.C. conference

US Inventor will host its 4th annual conference Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C., bringing inventors, USPTO leaders and former federal Judge Alan Albright together to debate patent policy, PTAB proceedings and AI’s growing role in the patent system. The event is aimed at showing how recent USPTO and congressional changes have affected inventors’ ability to rely on patents.

Why it matters: - Inventors say the patent system has become harder to rely on after post-2011 changes created more challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. - The conference is designed to put inventors, policymakers and USPTO leadership in the same room as pressure grows for changes that better protect patent rights. - The event also comes as artificial intelligence reshapes patent examination, invention and enforcement.

What happened: - US Inventor will hold its 4th Annual US Inventor Conference on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C. - The conference will include USPTO Director John A. Squires, former U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright, Commissioner for Patents Barry Schindler, Coke Morgan Stewart, patent strategy expert Erich Spangenberg and others. - The program opens Sept. 30 with about 100 inventors walking the halls of Congress to meet lawmakers. - On Oct. 1, Squires will open the day at the USPTO Madison Building with a session called The State of American Invention. - Albright, who recently left the federal bench after eight years, will make what organizers and Albright call his first conference speaking appearance since leaving the bench.

The details: - Albright said inventors need to be part of the most important conversations about the patent system and said he wants to discuss where the system is falling short. - Stewart, now president and CEO of C4IP, spent nearly 12 years at the USPTO across four administrations. - A panel titled "Breaking the Matrix: When the Data Challenges the Narrative" will feature Stewart, Albright, patent litigator Mark Siegmund and inventor Steve Shattil. - That panel will examine PTAB institution decisions and the effects of parallel litigation, prior adjudications, settled expectations and economic interests. - The panel will ask whether policies that reduce duplicative proceedings and preserve access to court should become durable law instead of remaining tied to USPTO policy. - One AI session will examine how AI is entering patent examination at the USPTO. - A second AI session will look at AI’s effect on invention, patent prosecution, inventorship, valuation, monetization and enforcement. - Conference director Molly Metz said the issue is personal because her jump-rope technology company grew to about 40 employees, manufactured products, licensed its technology and built a market around patents issued by the U.S. government. - Metz said her patents were later challenged at the PTAB and cancelled, which devastated the business and led her to advocate for independent inventors. - The conference theme is "Are You Stuck in the Invention Matrix?" and was developed by US Inventor President Randy Landreneau. - Landreneau said the event is meant to test whether the patent system is producing the innovation America needs and to address concerns about monopoly growth, Chinese technological competition and reshoring manufacturing. - More information and registration are available at Conference Information & Registration.

Between the lines: - The speaker lineup signals a broader effort to bridge the gap between patent policy makers and independent inventors who say administrative review has weakened patent reliability. - Albright’s appearance gives the conference added weight because a former federal judge is now publicly joining a debate over how patent disputes should be handled. - The focus on AI suggests the patent system is being tested by both procedural reform fights and new technology challenges at the same time.

What's next: - Inventors and policymakers will gather Sept. 30-Oct. 1 for panels, congressional meetings and USPTO programming. - The conference is likely to feed ongoing debate over PTAB policy, court access and whether Congress should make current USPTO practices permanent. - AI’s role in examination and invention is likely to remain a major issue for the patent system after the event.

The bottom line: - US Inventor is using the conference to argue that patent policy should be judged by real-world outcomes for inventors, not just agency theory.