UA Professor, SynCardia Systems Co-Founder Marvin Slepian Advises U.S. Government on AI Strategy
On its 25th anniversary, the committee has called this year a “year of action” for establishing the USPTO as the nation’s innovation agency.
On November 1, 2024, the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) submitted its fiscal year 2024 annual report to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. The committee submits the report each year to ensure that the nation’s system of patents and trademarks is on track to drive innovation and invention, and along with it, “increased global and national competitiveness, economic stability, and entrepreneurial growth,” the report says.
Seasoned inventor and University of Arizona Regents Professor Marvin Slepian, MD, JD, of the College of Medicine-Tucson, the Sarver Heart Center, and the BIO5 Institute, serves as one of the nine individuals who comprise the PPAC. Over the years, Slepian, who is also the director of the Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovationat the U of A Health Sciences, has worked closely with Tech Launch Arizona, the office of the university that commercializes inventions stemming from faculty, staff, and student innovation. TLA recognized Slepian with an award for Chemistry and Physical Sciences in 2014, and was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors as a Fellow in 2019. He is a named inventor on upwards of 160 issued and pending patents. His three-year term on the PPAC began on December 1, 2023, and will end on December 1, 2026. He received his JD in 2024 from the James E. Rogers College of Law and is now a member of the college’s faculty.
The other committee members include: Committee Chair Loletta Darden, Visiting Associate Professor and Director of the IP and Technology Clinic at the George Washington University Law School; Committee Vice Chair Charles Duan, Assistant Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law; Suzanne Harrison, founder of Percipience LLC; Heidi Nebel, Managing Partner and Chair of McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC; Henry Hadad, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Innovation Law, and Chief IP Counsel at Bristol Myers Squib; Olivia Tsai, Assistant General Counsel and Head of IP at Cruise; Earl “EB” Bright, President and General Counsel at ExploraMed Development, LLC, and Founder and CEO at X9; and Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law, and Founder and Director of the Institute for IP and Social Justice.
The PPAC was established 25 years ago, and committee members are all leaders in IP, have extensive backgrounds in IP, and come from various industries.
Artificial Intelligence in service of inventors and the patent system
Under the law, the PPAC is required to produce an annual report on the agency’s activity, operation and focus. This year, the PPAC focused on six key areas, with Slepian leading the subcommittee that wrote the section assessing the impact of AI and its applicability as a tool in service of innovation. Other sections delved into topics such as the link between patents and innovation to global competitiveness; how to expand outreach and education regarding patents and innovation; and reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications without sacrificing quality. The latter is an area where Slepian says AI may have a great role to play.
According to the report, “a well-functioning IP system is one if the keys to driving innovation and invention, which leads to increased global and national competitiveness, economic stability, and entrepreneurial growth.”
The report highlights that artificial intelligence impacts the USPTO and inventions in three broad areas: AI as a contributor to the process of invention; AI as the subject matter for invention; and AI as a tool to facilitate and propel the workflow of the USPTO.
On the latter point, the report finds that there was a backlog of unexamined patents which has grown year over year, from 526,000 in 2018, to 750,000 in 2023, to 795,000 as of today. The USPTO receives over 650,000 patent applications every year, each taking an average of 26 months to process from initial filing to final disposition.
“The office must determine novelty and non-obviousness related to prior art, meaning past public works and other inventions that have been disclosed or issued,” Slepian said. “With AI technologies, we can cut that down so that the speed of delivering valuable property rights will come out much sooner.”
AI as inventor and invention
The report also discusses the issue of AI serving as an inventor; courts have recently ruled that invention is primarily a human activity, being done by natural persons rather than machines. However, Slepian said, “The issue of artificial intelligence as being a contributor, component or accessory to augment human invention is an area of lively discussion.”
The report also discusses artificial intelligence as the topic or subject of invention. In the past year, the USPTO has issued specific guidance providing insight and instruction for inventors and patent professionals – including patent examiners – as to how best determine what is patentable.
Under the law natural phenomenon – such as the mathematics on which AI is based – at face value may not be patentable. However, if AI is a component of an invention and substantially contributes in a novel way to its function, it may indeed be patentable.
“The area is evolving,” Slepian said, “and we’ll be developing greater clarity in the future.”
Finally, the report outlines the important area of the use of artificial intelligence for enterprise management. As a focus of research, development, and commercial industry, AI exploded in recent years, having an impact across all fields from academics to healthcare to business to research and innovation.
“Dr. Slepian is an extraordinary colleague,” said College of Law Dean Marc Miller. “He has joined his exceptionally broad and deep knowledge of medicine, cardiology, and biomedical engineering, to more recent and sustained engagement with law. The combination of Dr. Slepian’s unique training, experience and passion is reflected in his recent work with the USPTO – and his new role as affiliate faculty at the James E. Rogers College of Law.”
“Dr. Slepian’s leadership on the Patent Public Advisory Committee underscores the University of Arizona’s commitment to shaping a forward-thinking intellectual property system. The report’s focus on AI as a transformative tool highlights the potential to accelerate invention, enhance economic stability, and foster entrepreneurial growth,” said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president of research and innovation. “The U of A aims to be at the forefront of the convergence of practical applications and policies surrounding AI.”
Doug Hockstad, associate vice president of Tech Launch Arizona, said that this is beneficial work as the university submits upwards of 300 patent applications every year.
“The better the system works and the faster patents can move through the process, the sooner these inventions will have an impact on the public,” he said. “We’re grateful for the dedication, passion, and energy that Dr. Slepian brings to bear for the U of A and the nation.”
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Pictured above – The members of the PPAC at their Fall 2024 meeting in Washington, DC. From left to right: Dr. Marvin Slepian, Heidi Nebel, Suzanne Harrison, Loletta Darden, Charles Duan, Lateef Mtima, Henry Hadad, Kathleen Duda, Olivia Tsai, and Earl “EB” Bright. Courtesy of Marvin Slepian
