The Duty Doesn’t Delegate: Ethics of Generative AI in Patent, Trademark, Copyright, and Trade Secret Practice

Generative AI enables the creation of new IP and augments IP practitioner capabilities. But a lawyer's ethical duties apply in full and cannot be offloaded to AI. This program shows IP practitioners where those duties come up in daily work, from addressing human inventorship, to navigating AI and human-generated materials in copyright practice, to verifying AI-drafted citations in trademark practice, to submitting secret information to AI in trade secret practice. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for competence, confidentiality, candor, supervision, and client communication, built on one principle: firms can hand tasks to AI tools, but the professional duties stay with the lawyer.

CLE Information, for U.S.-licensed attorneys: This session is approved for 1.0 Ethics credit in California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. Applications for CLE credit will be filed in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia. Attendees who are licensed in other jurisdictions will receive a uniform certificate of attendance, but Reed Smith only provides credit for the states listed. Please allow 4-6 weeks after the program to receive a certificate of attendance.