Sign Up for Patents and AI: What the Future of Innovation Looks Like – Ward and Smith, P.A.

Ward and Smith intellectual property attorney Ryan Simmons will lead the second session of our IP Summer School Webinar Series on June 25, covering one of the most consequential intersections in innovation today: patents and AI.
As AI tools become more embedded in how companies research and develop new products, patent strategy is evolving alongside them. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has been actively addressing how AI fits into the patent process — from questions of inventorship to how AI-assisted applications are examined. For businesses, understanding where that guidance currently stands is increasingly important.
In this session, Ryan will walk through what the USPTO is saying about AI in patent work, how to approach your innovation portfolio strategically, and the questions every business should be asking before committing to the next R&D investment. Whether you’re building a patent portfolio from scratch or managing an established one, AI is changing the calculus in ways that are worth understanding now.
Ryan represents clients across a wide range of industries in U.S. and international patent matters, from preparation and prosecution to portfolio strategy and IP due diligence. His experience spans early-stage companies to large enterprises, including assisting a biotech start-up in developing a patent portfolio that positioned them for a $90 million acquisition.
Session 2 is part of Ward and Smith’s free, four-part IP Summer School Webinar Series running May through August 2026. Each 45-minute session is delivered via Zoom.
June 9, 2026
June 5, 2026
June 2, 2026
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Any results the law firm and/or its attorneys may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters do not indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients. The attorney responsible for this website is Devon Williams, Co-Managing Director, Ward and Smith, P.A., 751 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 300, Raleigh, North Carolina.

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