Harm van der Heijden joins Solve's Customer Advisory Board

The EPO and IP Australia are launching a new PCT pilot programme on 1 March 2026 which will allow Australian applicants to designate the EPO as their International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities (ISA and IPEA). 

Given the EPO’s rigorous approach to clarity and support requirements, for this pilot programme to succeed, Australian applicants and patent practitioners will have to adapt to draft international applications with EPO-specific requirements in mind.

The launch of this pilot programme will add a new layer of complexity — (and opportunity) for patent practitioners. In a landscape where jurisdictional nuance can shape international search and examination outcomes, AI‑augmented tools such as Solve Intelligence's Patent Copilot^TM are becoming increasingly valuable.

We are excited to welcome Joshua Davenport, Shareholder at Banner Witcoff, to Solve Intelligence’s Customer Advisory Board.

As AI adoption in patent practice continues to accelerate, a critically important question emerges—How do you get AI to deliver the work product you need and the quality you want?

Please join Solve Intelligence and IPWatchdog on Thursday, February 5, at 12 PM ET for a detailed examination of the practical application of AI prompting for patent practice. This webinar is designed for patent attorneys and in-house counsel who want to move beyond experimentation and understand how prompt engineering can be used as a repeatable skill, enabling more efficient, higher-quality patent work across AI-enabled workflows.

Register here.

AI is now a daily tool for many patent attorneys; from drafting assistance to prior art searches. But questions about inventorship and ethics persist. Courts and patent offices worldwide continue to grapple with whether AI can be considered an inventor, and the recent November 2025 USPTO guidance has brought fresh clarity to this evolving area.

This article explores where the line is drawn between AI as a tool and AI as an inventor, and how attorneys can use AI responsibly while meeting their professional obligations.

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