Midwest IP Institute Sessions and Faculty Confirmed to Date!

The 2026 Midwest IP Institute is bringing together an exceptional lineup of timely sessions and experienced faculty – with even more to come.

Below are the sessions and speakers confirmed to date. Additional programming and faculty will be announced in the final schedule, and session times will be assigned soon. The order shown below is not the final program order.

PLENARIES

• USPTO Patent Office Practice Update
  – Barry Schindler; Acting Commissioner for Patents, USPTO
• USPTO Trademark Office Practice Update
  – Amy Cotton; Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, USPTO
• 25 Years That Changed IP: The Most Significant Developments of the Past Quarter Century and the Next Wave of Change
  ­– Mike Adlin; Pirkey Barber PLLC
  – ­Felicia J. Boyd; Norton Rose Fulbright
  – Jon Garon; Shepard Broad College of Law, Nova Southeastern University
  – Molly Kocialski; Holland & Hart LLP
  ­– John F. Marsh; Bailey Cavalieri
• My Favorite AI Tools for IP Work 
  ­– Larina Alton; Lewis Brisbois
  – ­Ann McCrackin; AI-Enabled Attorney®
  ­– Dan Tysver; Forsgren Fisher McCalmont DeMarea Tysver LLP
• Inside Minnesota IP: Meet the Inventors, Artists and Entrepreneurs
  – Toni Halleen, Author: The Surrogate, The Good Samaritan; Schaefer Halleen LLC
  – ­Benjamin D. Kirk; Ballard Spahr LLP
  – ­Kyle R. Kroll, Abstract Painter; Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.
  – ­Mark Ostrom; Joy Collaborative
  – ­Jason Tarasek; Vicente LLP
• Minnesota’s Great Outdoors: A Prescription for Preventing Burnout 
  1.0 mental health/substance use credit to be applied for
  – Judge Keala C. Ede; Minnesota Court of Appeals
  – ­David Motzenbecker; Motz Studios Forest Bathing Experiences
  – ­Sheila Niaz; Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
  – ­Jon Tynjala; Executive Director, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers

PATENT BREAKOUTS

• 2026 Federal Circuit Roundup: Key Takeaways for Patent Practitioners
  – John A. Dragseth; Fish & Richardson
  – ­Molly Kocialski; Holland & Hart LLP
• Is Your Client Actively Inducing Patent Infringement? How to Reduce That Risk in Product Launches, Licensing, and Customer-Facing Materials
  – ­Doowon R. Chung; Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
  – ­Sarah E. Jack; Fish & Richardson 
• Patent Enforcement in the New Discretionary Denial Era
  – ­Timothy E. Bianchi; Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.
  – ­Cyrus A. Morton; Robins Kaplan LLP
• AI-Assisted Inventions and AI-Exposed Technical Details
  – ­Amol Ajgaonkar; Sulba Solutions LLC
  – ­Vernon Guthrie; Schneider Electric USA
  – ­Alan M. Koenck; Kinney & Lange
  – ­Rick Nelson; Kinney & Lange
• The Patent Dispute Leverage Map: How to Test – and Recalculate – Settlement Value
  – ­Loren Hansen; Lathrop GPM
  – ­Terrance C. Newby; Maslon LLP

TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT BREAKOUTS

• 2026 TM Year in Review – Descriptive Fair Use, Evidence of Confusion, Failure-to-Function Refusals and More
  – Holley C.M. Horrell; Greene Espel PLLP
  – ­Timothy D. Sitzmann; Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.
• 2026 Copyright Law Year in Review: Secondary Copyright Liability, Human Authorship, AI Training and More
  – ­Michael Druckman; Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office
  – ­Ruth Rivard; Stinson LLP
  – ­Ann Dunn Wessberg; Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
• TM Search and Clearance in the AI Era: Opportunities and Risks
  – ­Cathy Dahl; Dorsey & Whitney LLP
• DuPont’s Abrupt AI Obituary: Are There Only Two Likelihood of Confusion Factors Left to Balance?
  – Stephen R. Baird; Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  – ­Tucker A. Chambers; Ecolab
  – ­Mary Beth Myles; Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  – ­Thomas Reichert; Simmons School of Law, Southern Illinois University
• Understanding Dupe Culture: Trade Dress, False Advertising, Influencers, and Brand Enforcement
  – Craig S. Krummen; Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  – ­Stephen Lee; Target
  – ­Tricia Ann-Olson Zachary; Ovaile Law Group

IN-HOUSE BREAKOUTS

• How Much Clearance Is Enough? Managing IP Risk Before Product Launch
  – Karen A. Brennan; CKE Restaurants, Inc.
  – ­Craig Lervick; Larkin, Hoffman, Daly & Lindgren, Ltd.
  – ­Mark J. Odegard; Best Buy
• AI That Actually Saves Time, Improves Work Product, and/or Reduces Outside Legal Spend: In-House IP-Work Use Cases, Guardrails, and Lessons Learned
  – ­Tucker A. Chambers; Ecolab
  – ­Sandra K. Nowak; Solventum 
• Keeping Trade Secrets “Under Lock and Key”: How to Implement Protections That Fit the Risk and the Business
  – ­Randall E. Kahnke; Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
  – ­John F. Marsh; Bailey Cavalieri
• The IP Licensing Stress Test: Will the Proposed Deal Still Work When the Product, Relationship, or Business Changes?
  – Sarah A. Lockner; Ecolab
• From Muse Image to Prediction Markets to Flock: What Today’s and Tomorrow’s Tech Headlines Mean for IP Lawyers
  – Caldwell A. Camero; Fluke Corporation
  – ­Nikola Datzov; School of Law, University of North Dakota
  – ­Justin O. Kay; Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

“THINK TANK” ROUNDTABLE BREAKOUTS
Available exclusively to in-person attendees and not recorded.

Join a facilitated, peer-driven discussion focused on:

• Candid conversation
• Benchmarking through shared experience
• Practical problem-solving

Each roundtable will be led by experienced practitioners and tailored to a specific practice area:

• AI
• In-House Counsel
• Patent Prosecution
• Patent Litigation

LIVE IN-PERSON
Thursday & Friday, September 24-25, 2026
Minnesota CLE Conference Center
600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 370
Seventh Street & Nicollet Mall, Third Floor City Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota

ONLINE REPLAY
Monday & Tuesday, October 26-27, 2026
Attend online
Online replay includes all plenary and all breakout sessions except the "Think Tank" Roundtable breakouts. A moderator will be available to answer questions by email.

$495 MSBA members / $495 paralegals / $595 standard rate

Other discounts that may apply:

• Season Pass Discount
• New Lawyer Discount

Scholarships available!
Need-based scholarships are available for in-person and online seminars. For further information or to obtain a scholarship application, contact us at 800-759-8840 or customerservice@minncle.org.

INSTITUTE:
Minnesota CLE is applying to the Minnesota State Board of CLE for 10.5 standard CLE credits. The maximum number of total credits attendees may claim for this program is 10.5 credits. Minnesota CLE is an accredited sponsor in Wisconsin and North Dakota.

3 HOURS OF FREE POST-INSTITUTE WEBCASTS:
Minnesota CLE is applying to the Minnesota State Board of CLE for 1.0 standard CLE credit for each of the 3 post-Institute webcasts. These webcasts will be free for all attendees of the 2026 Midwest IP Institute. This free bonus applies to the in-person and online replay attendees for this conference.