Applified Marketing Group 12/11/25 Applified Marketing Group 12/11/25

Defining the "Something More": How In re Desjardins and the "SMED" Memo Reshape AI Eligibility

For over a decade, the patent eligibility of software and artificial intelligence has been haunted by the vague requirement of Alice Corp.: to demonstrate that a claim contains "something more" than an abstract idea. On December 4, 2025, USPTO Director John A. Squires provided the definitive answer to what that "something more" actually looks like, codifying the recent decision in In re Desjardins as the binding framework for the future of AI prosecution.

Applified Marketing Group 12/3/25 Applified Marketing Group 12/3/25

Revised Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions: A New Direction from the USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published its Revised Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions on November 28, 2025, immediately rescinding in its entirety the guidance issued under the previous administration, and creating uncertainty concerning the patentability of at least some AI-assisted inventions.

Applified Marketing Group 11/21/25 Applified Marketing Group 11/21/25

Modular Prompting: Building Reliable AI Workflows for Legal Practice

The question practitioners face is not whether to adopt AI, but how to adopt it in ways that acknowledge its fundamental limitations while capturing genuine value—and the answer lies in modular prompting, a framework for building reliable, repeatable workflows that constrain AI’s outputs and improve consistency across time.

Applified Marketing Group 11/6/25 Applified Marketing Group 11/6/25

2026 Patent Fee Schedule: New Service for AI-Assisted Applications

We have updated our Patent Fee Schedule for 2026 with a new offering for early-stage companies: professional preparation assistance and filing of a US Provisional Patent Application for inventors who would like to generate their own application draft using a generative-AI tool like Idea Clerk.

Ben Esplin 8/21/25 Ben Esplin 8/21/25

Protecting the Data Advantage: Why Trade Secrets Programs Are Essential for Data-Driven Technology Companies

Data-driven technology companies face a critical risk shift as they mature—from proving market value to protecting their innovations from competitors—making trade secrets programs essential for safeguarding the proprietary data sources, AI methodologies, and analytical processes that drive their competitive advantage in the $14.4 billion data monetization market.