AI Tools & Patent Inventorship: Tacos & Coffee with Jackson Walker

If your lab uses AI tools to identify new compositions, compounds, or formulas, this session is about what that means for your patents — who counts as an inventor, what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has actually settled, and how much human involvement you need to document. Coffee and breakfast tacos provided.

Who this is for: UT faculty, postdocs, and researchers using AI in discovery work, with a focus on life sciences applications. Startup teams building on AI/ML research are welcome.

Presentation

The current state of AI tool usage and patent inventorship, including the impact of Ex parte Desjardins — a recent USPTO decision that bears directly on AI-related inventions. The presentation will separate the points on which current guidance is reasonably settled from those that remain uncertain until the USPTO provides more direction, and cover practical guidance on how much human involvement and scrutiny researchers should apply when using AI in day-to-day lab work.

Speakers — Jackson Walker LLP

Brian Prewitt, Partner, Austin — intellectual property attorney with 20+ years in patent preparation and prosecution; former electrical engineer; has authored 1,500+ patent applications. Chambers USA–ranked for Intellectual Property (Texas).

Paige Welch, Associate, Austin — patent prosecution and IP enforcement; biomedical engineering degrees; former judicial law clerk to Judge Alan D. Albright, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Greg Lambert, Chief Innovation Officer, Houston — leads the firm's work on generative AI, automation, and legal technology; co-founder of 3 Geeks and a Law Blog.

Justin Tung, Transactional Practice Innovation Lead, Austin — builds and teaches AI tools across the firm; formerly a Reference Librarian and Lecturer at UT's Tarlton Law Library.

Hosted by Discovery to Impact and the Texas Innovation Center, with UT's intellectual property team.

Logistics

In person only. Texas Innovation Center, EER 2.518 — second floor of the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER), 2501 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712

Finding the room: the Texas Innovation Center is in the corridor connecting Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall (ECJ) and EER, across from O's Café. Enter EER on the first floor and take a left.

Parking: Speedway Garage or San Jacinto Garage

Rideshare drop-off: the corner of Speedway and Dean Keeton, or Dean Keeton just east of Speedway

Coffee and breakfast tacos provided.

This session is for general information and is not legal advice.