Client Alerts
Authoritative analysis on patent law, IP strategy, and government contracting — published regularly by our attorneys.
LEGAL PRACTICE & AI ETHICS
Managing Ethical Risks, Liability, and Risk Mitigation in Attorney Use of Generative AI
Read articleTHE LAW OF AGENCY IN THE AGE OF AI: NAVIGATING PRINCIPAL LIABILITY FOR AUTONOMOUS DIGITAL AGENTS AND SCALED SWARMS
As businesses increasingly deploy autonomous "agentic AI" and multi-agent swarms to handle contracts, trades, and customer relations, a centuries-old legal question resurfaces: When a digital agent acts, who is legally responsible? In this Client Alert for August 2026, we explore why the law refuses to recognize algorithms as liability shields, how courts apply traditional Principal-Agent doctrines to autonomous fleets, and what practical steps organizations must take—from updating indemnity clauses to implementing automated kill-switches—to establish a defense of "Reasonable Algorithmic Supervision." Read the full analysis to protect your organization from hidden exposures.
Read articleThe Actionable IP Alert: Protecting Corporate Treasuries Under SEC SOX 404
For operating enterprises holding substantial digital assets, standard API controls are no longer enough; your private key software logic is your internal control architecture. Recent SEC enforcement trends highlight severe audit risks around Segregation of Duties in multi-signature setups and untracked configuration drift within enterprise MPC layers (e.g., Fireblocks or Anchorage APIs). This client alert evaluates the technical failure points of both custody architectures. It provides engineering leads and corporate executives with a practical 4-step blueprint to execute cryptographic key segregation audits, implement immutable API logging, run open-source software compliance sweeps, and execute a seamless technical hand-off to legal counsel and CPAs.
Read articleThe Anatomy of the License Grant
Why customization and precision form the foundation of software
Read articleProtecting the Corporate Crown Jewels: A Guide to Ironclad IP and Confidentiality Agreements
Think your company owns its core technology? It might not. This alert breaks down the exact contractual language required to secure automatic IP assignment, avoid messy evidentiary battles over pre-existing code, and protect your trade secrets indefinitely.
Read articleThe Hidden Compliance Trap Threatening Federal AI & DevSecOps Contracts
Most federal systems integrators rely heavily on open-source software to build modern multi-cloud architectures and AI frameworks. But there’s a massive hidden catch: a structural clash between standard federal data rights (FAR/DFARS) and open-source license terms. If left unmanaged, this friction can quietly expose your business to contract defaults, copyright infringement, and False Claims Act liabilities. Here is how to bridge the gap before it hits your revenue.
Read articleUSPTO's "Kim Memo" Signals a New Era of Growth for AI Patent Eligibility
The restrictive era of software rejections is receding. Discover how the USPTO’s new "Kim Memo" guidance completely shifts the playing field, giving AI entrepreneurs their strongest patenting tailwinds in over a decade.
Read articleThe Golden Rule of AI Safety: Protecting Trade Secrets via Content Masking
As organizations integrate Large Language Models into their daily operations, the risk of trade secret leakage and loss of attorney-client privilege has reached a critical point. While technical safeguards are often used to protect the "envelope" of communication, Content Masking remains the most effective strategy to protect the "message" itself. By adopting a standardized protocol—replacing specific names, financial figures, and project titles with generic placeholders—businesses can leverage the full power of AI without exposing their most sensitive data.
Read articleBiological vs. Digital Recall: Protecting Intellectual Property in the Age of AI
The traditional "Residual Knowledge" clause, once a standard boilerplate for human memory, has become a significant liability in the era of Generative AI. As AI tools act as a "digital exoskeleton," the line between biological recall and digital retrieval has blurred, potentially allowing proprietary data to be resurfaced long after a project ends. To protect your intellectual property, it is essential to redefine "unaided memory" and implement strict contractual guardrails against AI-assisted data reconstruction.
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