ChIPs to host international judges panel at sold-out global summit

ChIPs will bring four judges from the U.S. and Australia to its Global Summit 2026 in Los Angeles on Oct. 23 for a panel on how courts are shaping the future of intellectual property and AI. More than 800 members are expected at the sold-out event, which is designed to surface how judges are weighing precedent against fast-changing global policy.

Why it matters: - The panel puts judicial decision-making at the center of the IP and AI debate. - ChIPs members will hear directly from judges handling disputes that can shape patent, trade, privacy and licensing outcomes. - The session reflects growing uncertainty around ownership, AI and cross-border policy.

What happened: - ChIPs will host four judges at the ChIPs Global Summit 2026 on Oct. 23 in Los Angeles. - The sold-out event will be held at the J.W. Marriott LA LIVE. - More than 800 ChIPs members are expected to attend. - The panel, “Judgment Calls: Shaping the Future of IP,” will be moderated by Kathi Vidal, a partner at Winston Taylor and former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO director. - The discussion is part of the summit theme, “The Next Act: IP, Innovation, and Influence.”

The details: - Hon. Dr. Annabelle Bennett is a retired Australian Federal Court judge, lawyer and scientist. - Bennett served on the Federal Court of Australia from 2003 to 2016. - Bennett also served as an additional judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, a presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and president of the Copyright Tribunal. - Bennett has served as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, including at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. - Bennett became the eighth chancellor of Bond University in April 2016 and held that role for eight years. - Bennett was appointed in 2020 as a commissioner on the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. - Bennett was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005 and elevated to Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019. - Bennett is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Law. - Judge MaryJoan McNamara has served as an Administrative Law Judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission since August 2015. - McNamara will transition in September 2026 from the USITC to private practice as an independent arbitrator, mediator and advisor focused on complex intellectual property, international trade and commercial disputes. - McNamara’s USITC docket has included trade misappropriation, patent infringement and occasional trademark matters across automobile manufacturing, chemical composition, computers, telecommunications, consumer electronics, LCD TVs, OLED screens, integrated circuits and aesthetic consumer products. - McNamara has overseen cases involving standard essential patents and FRAND licensing. - Before joining the USITC, McNamara spent six years as an Administrative Law Judge at the Social Security Administration. - Judge Beth Labson Freeman serves on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. - Freeman was deputy county counsel for San Mateo County from 1983 to 2001. - Freeman served on the San Mateo County Superior Court from 2001 to 2014, including as assistant presiding judge and presiding judge. - President Barack Obama nominated Freeman to the federal bench in 2013, and the Senate confirmed her by a 91-7 vote in February 2014. - Freeman issued a December 2020 nationwide injunction blocking a Trump executive order on certain diversity training for federal contractors, finding it likely unconstitutional. - Freeman struck down a California online privacy law affecting children in September 2023, finding it unconstitutional. - Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo serves on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. - Bencivengo joined a predecessor firm to DLA Piper in 1988 and practiced patent litigation across multiple technologies. - Bencivengo co-chaired the firm’s patent litigation section. - Bencivengo became a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of California in 2005. - President Obama nominated Bencivengo to the district court in May 2011, and the Senate confirmed her by a 90-6 vote in February 2012. - Kathi Vidal is the former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. - Vidal is a partner at Winston Taylor in Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. - ChIPs is a nonprofit with more than 10,000 members across 30 regional chapters in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa. - ChIPs focuses on advancing and connecting women in technology, law and policy. - ChIPs social links include LinkedIn and YouTube.

Between the lines: - ChIPs is using a high-profile judicial panel to frame AI and IP as a governance issue, not just a technology issue. - The international lineup matters because the policy questions around AI, copyright and trade are playing out differently across jurisdictions. - McNamara’s upcoming move into private practice suggests the panel will blend live judicial perspective with experience from the advisory and dispute-resolution side.

What's next: - The summit will take place Oct. 23 in Los Angeles. - McNamara is set to leave her USITC role in September 2026. - ChIPs members attending the summit will hear the panel discuss judicial influence and trends in rulings under the 2026 theme.

The bottom line: - ChIPs is turning its flagship summit into a forum for how judges are navigating AI-era IP disputes and global policy shifts.