​As AI systems increasingly contribute to innovation, the question arises: can they be recognized as inventors under current patent laws? Stephen Hou, Vice President & COO of the American Patent Agency, will delve into the evolving legal landscape and explore the implications of AI-assisted inventions and the global divergence in recognizing AI's role in inventorship.

​Join us to navigate the intersection of artificial intelligence and patent law, and to discuss how legal frameworks are adapting to technological advancements.

​This event is hosted by Qlay and Open Network Lab.

​Guest Speaker:

​Stephen Hou is the Vice President & COO of the American Patent Agency. He has practiced patent prosecution for law firms in Boston and San Francisco, where he counsels tech startups on patent portfolio development, patent drafting, and patent prosecution. He has taught seminars on patent law and strategy at Cornell University, Harvard Medical School, the London School of Economics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), New York University, and the Wharton School, as well as at premier universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.

​Stephen graduated Phi Beta Kappa with four undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering (EE), all from MIT, where he conducted master's and doctoral research in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and taught courses in digital signal processing. He earned the President Paul E. Gray Award for Excellence in Research and the Goodwin Medal, MIT's highest honor for excellence in teaching by a graduate student. Stephen received his law degree from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Dean's Award Scholar and an InSITE Fellow, advising startup companies and venture capitalists on patents, technology, and entrepreneurship. He is an alumnus of the International Patent Drafting Training Program hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations (UN) agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.

​Moderator:

​Tom Nakata is the Co-founder and CEO of Qlay. He previously worked as a consultant at McKinsey, building organizational and marketing strategies for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands. Tom received his B.A. in Statistics from Harvard College.

​Agenda:

• ​12:30 - 1:15 pm: Registration and Networking w/ Food and Drinks!​

• ​1:15 - 1:20 pm: Partner Introductions​

• ​1:20 - 1:50 pm: "Artificial Intelligence as Inventors? A Dive into the Current State of Patent Law" by Stephen Hou, Vice President & COO of the American Patent Agency

• ​1:50 - 2:05 pm: Fireside Chat and Q&A, moderated by Tom Nakata, Co-founder and CEO of Qlay

• ​​​2:05 - 2:10 pm: Announcements

• ​2:10 - 3:00 pm: Networking

​​​Hosts:

​​​Qlay is a Global Engineer Hiring Platform. We help startups source, screen and hire top-tier engineers from around the world. Book a quick intro call to learn how you can scale your development without ruining your cash flow!

​Open Network Lab (OnLab) is a seed accelerator program run by the Digital Garage Group. There are 2 batches a year with an investment of $100K.