Symposium
We are excited to announce the 2026 JTIP Symposium: “From Aesthetic to Agency: Patent Law at the Crossroads of Design and Policy”!
This year’s symposium will explore how design-patent doctrine, agency policy, and market dynamics are converging to reshape U.S. patent law and strategy. The event will bring together patent experts, practitioners, leading academics, students, and the greater Chicago legal community to analyze where design-patent doctrine and agency policy are heading and what these changes mean for innovators and lawyers. Key topics and discussions will include:
💡 Navigating the New Landscape of Design Patents and Obviousness
💡 Agency, Review, & Beyond: USPTO Discretion & Patent Validity
Please join us in-person at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Lincoln Hall on Thursday, February 19th from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for an event filled with speakers, panels, and networking!
📆 Thursday, February 19, 2026 12:00–6:00 p.m.
📍 Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Lincoln Hall, 375 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
‼️ REGISTER HERE ‼️
This symposium is supported in part by the Irving Gordon Symposia Fund, established in 1996 by the Gordon family, Northwestern alumni, and friends to honor the memory of Irving Gordon, a graduate of the class of 1947, and a beloved faculty member of the Law School from 1966 until his death in 1994.
Browse archived symposia:
View panel information, videos, and presentation materials from past symposia.