Andrew Zappia

Daily Record Staff//September 21, 2023//

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Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

Years in current role: 5

What do you enjoy most about your position?

I get to work with so many interesting and cutting-edge technologies and help clients protect and commercialize them.

What are the biggest current challenges in intellectual property law?

AI is challenging many of our established principles in IP law. For example, if AI is employed to create a new and useful chemical compound, who is the inventor, the programmer or the AI itself? Likewise, if AI writes a story, can it be copyrighted and who is the author?

What do you think the biggest change in your practice area will be over the next 3-5 years?

There is great concern by technology companies that too many of their patents are being invalidated, including by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, so Congress is looking at substantial reforms to improve the position of patent owners. If enacted, those reforms will substantively change the legal landscape.

This profile is part of The Daily Record's Power List for Intellectual Property for 2023. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list here.